If you don't know her name, you'll definitely know her face (all about the uni-brow)! The Mexican artist is having a bit of a comeback recently; with her unique style, natural beauty and girl power attitude, it's not hard to see why! Okay okay, so I have to admit, I only knew her infamous self-portrait and the fact she was a well loved artist. I have had to do some of my very own research to discover the lady behind the immense eyebrows!
She Was A Bisexual Woman And Proud - Turns out, she was a bit of legend for many other reasons than her creative and unusual art works. She was an open and proud bi-sexual woman, something at the time (1920s), was something you didn't shout about. She is rumoured to have had an affair with fellow artist Georgia O'Keefe and even several of her own husband's mistresses #complicated
She Was Disabled -After suffering a horrific accident when she was a child, she suffered injuries that would impact on the rest of her life, and she often spoke out for disabilities and made people more accepting of people that weren't 'like the rest' at a time where any disability came with ignorance and prejudice.
She Talked Openly About Personal Issues - She sadly suffered from miscarriages and had trouble conceiving, all of which women struggle with today, but back at the start of the last century, it just wasn't talked about. Frida went against the grain and painted tough personal and political subjects, making people stand up and think.
She Was A Political Activist -She really didn't care what people thought, and along with her paintings, she became a rather tough political activist. She was born just before the Mexican revolution, which has a profound effect on her life. Both she and her husband, Diago Rivera, going the Mexican Communist Party and were both active members.
She Was A Cross Dresser - It seemed Frida liked to get people taking. She often talks about cross-dressing and even dressed as a man for a family portrait (see below - centre).
Her artwork may have been what made her famous, but her brave, bold and fun personality is what we now remember her for. Looking back at her life, she overcame so much at a time where it must have seemed impossible. Listing the things we knew about her could seem completely normal, but everything she stood for and campaigned against were subjects that weren't discussed, and certainly not by a women. She was proud about her sexuality, her disability and her uniqueness and that's why we absolutely love her and why we should all BE MORE FRIDA!
Shop our 'Be More Frida' t-shirt here!
