National Art Education Association

National Art Education Association
Art Critics on Frida Kahlo: A Comparison of Feminist and Non-Feminist Voices
Author(s): Elizabeth Garber
Source: Art Education, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Mar., 1992), pp. 42-48
Published by: National Art Education Association
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Art
Critics
on
Frida
Kahlo:
A Comparisonof Feminist
and
Non-Feminist Voices
Elizabeth Garber
Introduction
As a writer,researcher,andstudentof
feministcriticism,I amoftenaskedto
definefeministartcriticism.Ina timewhen
criticismhas becomea widelydiscussed
componentof arteducationprogramsin
universities
andschools- a timecoincidentwithincreasedawarenessof and
to representing
the world
responsibility
viewsof womenandpersonsof colorthe questionis relevantto a broadaudience of arteducatorswhoare interestedin
feministperspectivesinto
incorporating
theirartcurricula.
the uses
Understanding
anddefinitions
of feminism,frommedia
acausages to dense andjargon-laden
demicexplorations,
is confusing,making
the questforunderstanding
difficult.
Througha comparisonof feministandnonfeministwritteninterpretations
of Frida
Kahlo'sart,Iwilloutlinebothwhatfeminist
artcriticismis andwhatit is not,andthe
varietyof formsfeministcriticismtakes.
withthe feministcritics,Iwill
Beginning
showa varietyof approachesto Kahlo's
paintingsthatrepresentdifferentissues
andemphaseswithinthe feministmovement.Thesefeministanalyseswillthenbe
comparedwithnon-feminists'
interpretations.Iwillconcludewitha shortrationale
forfeministartcriticismas a groupof
perspectiveson artthatare an important
componentinourbecomingliterateabout
worldviews. First,however,some
multiple
briefbiographical
detailsof the artist'slife
andwork.
FridaKahlo
FridaKahlowas a Mexicanartistwhose
lifespanoccupiedmostof the firsthalfof
thiscentury(1907-1954).Herpaintingsare
1992
42 ArtEducation/March
figurativeandcolorful,filledwithsymbolism
andcarriedout inwhatseems to have
been a deliberately
naivestyle.She was
of
a
of
andintellectuals
in
artists
part group
Mexicoduringthefirstpartof thiscentury
whowere bothproudof theirMexican
heritageandweddedto socialreforms
In1925 Kahlo
throughCommunism.
sufferedgraveinjuriesto herpelvis,spine,
andone of herfeet whena streetcarhitthe
bus inwhichshe was riding;the accident
affectedherlife.She spent
profoundly
muchtimeinbed,underwentdozensof
operations,andcouldnotbearchildren.
Theeffectsof herinjuryandinfertility,
combinedwiththe emotionalupheavalsof
herdramaticmaritalrelationship
with
muralistDiegoRivera,are apparent
subjectsin manyof herpaintings.Her
imageoccupiesthe centralpictureplanein
mostof herwork,as botha physicalanda
psychologicalstudyof herself.Kahlo's
herworkthe
is international,
reputation
subjectof manycriticalreviewsand
Kahlois subject
severalbooks.Currently,
of renewedattention,withnewarticles
appearingmonthly(ArtandMan,1991;
1990;Chessher,1990;
Bartolucci,
Helland,1990/1991;
1990/1991;
Grimberg,
Herrera,1990;Zamora,1989);andher
workis includedin numerousexhibitions.1
'Recent highlypublicizedand well reviewed U. S.
exhibitionsin whichKahlo'sworkhas been included
are "Mexico:Splendorsof ThirtyCenturies"at the
Museumof Artand "Womenin Mexico"
Metropolitan
at the NationalAcademyof Design in New York.
Furtherexhibitionsare scheduled at the San Antonio
Museumof Artand Los Angeles CountyMuseumof
Art.Pop star Madonna,who owns several of Kahlo's
paintings,has purchasedthe rightsto the artist'slife
storyand intendsto make a movie;othermovies are
reportedlyin the works(Herrera,1990).
The FeministVoice and FridaKahlo
inthispaperis associatedwith
"Feminist"
thatgenderis an underan understanding
lyingfactor(althoughnotnecessarilythe
with
ourrelationships
onlyone) influencing
otherpeople.Feministartcriticismarises
connectedwiththe
fromandis inextricably
women'smovementandits socio-political
the oppressionof
goals of alleviating
women. Itis "aimed... at bringinginto
beingnewmeaningsand new
subjectivities... [Itis] committedto the
futureof women"(Modleski,1989,14-15).
Thesegoals areoftenimplied,overarching
thiscontext,
ratherthandirect.Within
feministartcriticismencompassesartby
of womeninart,and
women,the portrayal
socialmeansthatconstructourviewing
of womenartistsand
andunderstanding
of gender.
the representation
Activitiesandgoals of Americanfeminist
artcriticsandhistorians2
duringthe 1970s
and'80s havebeen to placewomenartists
andignored)incanonsof high
(forgotten
to
artwheretheyare under-represented,
inwomen'sart
searchforcharacteristics
and
thatmightdefinea "femalesensibility,"
to examinevaluesinartthatdetermine
andthe veryideaof an art
"greatness"
canon.Duringthe lastten years,the
of thislastactivityhave
implications
of
to
expanded a full-scaleexamination
meanand
political
ideological
underlying
ingsof sociallydeterminedstructuressuch
of
as canonicalart.Thesocialconstruction
social
of
the
and
relationship
gender
to women'sartandto the
structures
of womenin arthave
representation
extensive
analyses.Lately,
undergone
insteadof studyingdifferencesbetween
womenandmen,differencesbetween
womenhavebeen exploredas they relate
to variationsin race,class, ethnicity,age,
2Thisstudyis limitedto U.S. Americanartcriticism
in this countryof
because of the unavailability
materialspublishedin Mexicoand othercountries.It
is limitedlargelyto criticismpublishedinjournalswith
highcirculation,althougha subsequent comparison
couldand shouldbe made drawingupon the views of
criticspublishedin less circulatedjournalsforideas
and views outsidethe spectrumof artjournals
directedtowardshighartaudiences. Manyof these
sources are not readilyavailablein the U.S.A.,
notablythose publishedin Mexico.Fora comprehenon Kahloup to the early 1980s, see
sive bibliography
Garcia(1983); Herrera's(1983a) biographyof Kahlo
containsa selected bibliography,pp. 445-448; the
WhitechapelGalleryexhibitioncatalog (Mulveyand
Wollen,1982) also includesa selected bibliography.
sexualpreference,andotherfactorsthat
to groupidentities(Goumacontribute
PetersonandMathews,1987;Lorde,1984;
Tickner,1984;Trinh,1990).
The above activities are reflected in
FridaKahlo,The Two
Fridas,oil on canvas, 67 x
67".Collectionof Museode
ArteModerno,Mexico,D.F.
Photocourtesyof Hayden
Herrera.
writtenaboutFrida
feministcriticism
Kahlo'spaintings.Inthe firstthreewritings
analyzedbelow,the focusis on defininga
femalesensibility.Inthefourthone, it is on
thatdefinegenderas well
socialstructures
as on differencesbetweenwomen.Implicit
of a
inallthe essays is the restoration
femaleartistlargelyignoredinthe United
Statesuntilthewomen'smovement
broughtherto ourattention.Thisproject,
dealtwithin my
then,is notspecifically
critics.
of
feminist
comparisons
Theearliestpieceof writingused forthis
Kahlo:PaintingforMiracles"
studyis "Frida
in
which
authorGloriaOrenstein
(1973),
of Kahlo'spaintings
ties the iconography
condiintothe physicalandpsychological
tionsof the artist'slife.Orensteinwritesin
thisarticleto definea femalesensibility.
1992
ArtEducation/March
43
Becauseof women'sbiologicaldifferences,
she assumeswomenarepsychologically
frommen.Kahlois describedas
different
whodaredto express in
artist"
"pioneering
herart"thefulltruthof [her]biological
experience"
(p. 7). Anexcerptof
of Kahlo's
Orenstein'sinterpretation
Ford
Hospitalillustrates
paintingHenry
howOrensteindevelopsthatthesis.
cellularstructuresandshapes, microcosmic equivalentsof the solar system ... She
is the centralaxisof a naturaldramaof
universaldimensionsandproportions"
(p.
to Orenstein'swritinginthis
8). According
essay, the universaldramais thatof
women'slives.
Inthisessay, Orensteinengages in
activitiesandgoals of earlyfeminist
criticism.
She findsKahlo'sworka stylistic
alternative
to traditional
estheticandsocial
Ina self-portrait
of the artist...she is
and
attributes
such
differencesto
norms,
attachedby visiblestrings(physicaland
the
artist's
sex.
biological ThroughKahlo's
emotionalties)to herunbornfetusand to
she
work,
projectsandclaimsa universal
in an
herpelviswhichhadbeen fractured
female
sensibilityconnectedto nature.
accidentthatmadeit impossibleforher
Kahlo's
as an artistis claimed
importance
everto bearchildren.Thesestringsare
in
her
to
ability vividlycommunicateher
of the spiritual
concreterepresentations
"true"
gendersensibility.
andpsychologicalbondsbetweenher
also assumes, ina 1977
LucyLippard
artisticexpressionandthe traumasrelated
which
includes
essay
analysisof Frida
to the biologicalcrisesof femalesexuality
Kahlo's
that
paintings, women'ssensibility
in hermanycanvases
thatshe portrayed
differs
from
men's.Inthe paintingRoots,
depictingbirth,Caesareanoperationsand
senses
a "longing
forconnection
Lippard
andhemorrhages.(p. 7)
miscarriages
withan anthropomorphized
earthmother:"
from
the
leaves
which
growoutof Kahlo's
is decipheredas an
Kahlo'siconography
chest
a
network
of tinyredcapillar"spread
expressionof femaleness,a condition
back
into
the
earthand
ies, bleeding
whichis characterized
by a tie withnature
her
to
it"
however,
binding
(p. 35). Lippard,
andvariousearthgoddesses. Orenstein
attributesKahlo'sabilityto retainlinksto
findsthatKahlo"alwaysdrewhertrue
natureto the artist'sconsciousnessof her
nourishment
directlyfromnature"
spiritual
Mexican
Indianheritage.Herpaintings
(p.7). AnotherpaintingOrensteindisexude "thatMexicansense of solitudethat
cusses is MyNurseand I (Minanoy yo),
OcatvioPaz called'a formof orphanhood',"
whichdepictsthe artist"asFemme-Enfant
claims
native
wet-nurse/Eartha
suckled
Lippard
(p. 35). Kahlo'sversionof
by
being
womanandnature,accordingto Lippard,
is
Motherfigurewhose breastis composedof
notof idealisticharmonybutincludesthe
flowerletblood-vessels" (p. 8). In relationto
threatof nature.InMyNurseand I,the
anotherpainting,OrensteinidentifiesKahlo
maskof the nurse-goddessis associated
withAztecgoddesses of lifeanddeath,
withsacrificial
ceremoniesinthe Aztec
Coatlicue,the earthgoddess, and
the goddess of death.
religion,andthe earthgoddess is accordMictlanchuatl,
the artistbecomes, in
inga unionof benevolenceandthreat.
Ultimately
understandsthis associationof
Orenstein'sessay, ani"Artist-Curandera," Lippard
dualities
as an wholisticviewof the costo
was
who
or artist-healer:
"Frida,
going
becomea medicaldoctor,became instead
mos, withwomen(representedby the baby
- one who
a kindof Artist-Curandera
Frida)ableto acceptthe whole.
who
in
to
order
WhitneyChadwick(1985)triesto
performmiracles,
paints
establish
a femalesensibilityinthe artof
Rather
in
cure"
to
order
(pp.8-9).
paints
womenconnectedwiththe surrealist
thanconnectingsuchhealingpowerswith
movementin"TheMuseis Artist:Women
Kahlo'sIndianheritage,Orensteinidentiin
the SurrealistMovement,"
of
all
whichinas
the
Kahlo's
fies
struggle
struggle
cludes
a
of
consideration
of
the
work
of Frida
her
as
celebrates
womenand
symbol
Kahlo.
Chadwick
finds
women's
in
of
and
face
the
Woman'sstrength
approach
pain
to surrealistic
paintingdifferentfromthatof
suffering.Notingthe artistherselfis
males'.Whilethe mentendedto treat
depictedat the centerof mostof herown
women
as an imageor agentof inspiration
writes:
"Her
Orenstein
work,
painting
her
in
an
art
of disruptivehallucination
and
Without
Hope(SinExperanze)portrays
"the
women
she
erotic
with
...
are
covered
The
sheets
violence," argues,
crying
44 ArtEducation/March
1992
female
soughtto articulatea specifically
consciousnessby recourseto a more
oftenautobiographicomposed,narrative,
cal artof sensibility"
(p. 121).Themale
surrealists'
emphasison eroticdesire
claimsChadwick,
and
women,
objectified
definedthemas subordinate
to men.
Wherethe criticfindseroticviolencein
Kahlo'spaintings,it is directedagainstthe
self, "notthe Other,violenceinseparable
fromthe physiologicalrealityof woman's
sexuality"
(p. 124). Personalexperience
dominatesherartina narrative
flow,rather
thanthe dreamlikediscontinuity
thatwas
the goal of malesurrealists.Chadwick
findsthatwomenartistsof surrealism
intheir
depictedthemselvesregularly
whereas
their
male
paintings,
counterparts
didnot.Whereasmalesurrealistsutilized
the imageof womenas metaphorforthe
mysteriesof nature,womenpainters
poisedtheirimages"uneasilybetweenthe
worldsof artand nature."InKahlo'swork,
Chadwickunderstandsthisa reflectionof
the dualityof the artist'slife:her"exterior
persona"of ornamentandcostumejuxtaself nourished
posed nextto her"interior
on the painof hercrippledbody"(p. 128).
Chadwickultimately
argueswomenin
the surrealistmovementchose their
difference.She claimsthatthroughtheir
art,womensurrealistscommentedon the
tensionbetween"constructed
socialbeing"
(symbolizedby artandthe exteriorpersona) and"thepowerfulforcesof the
life"(symbolizedby "nature"
instinctual
and
"theinteriorself")(p. 126)3Chadwick's
essay is feministcriticismbecause it
exploresthe artof womeninthe surrealist
movementandthe natureof theirsensibilityas opposedto theirmalecounterparts'
in an effortto increaseunderstanding
of
these frequently
overlookedartists.Ineach
of the threeessays thusfarexamined,
of femalesensibilthroughthe exploration
new
and
are
ity,
meanings subjectivities
to
women
artists.
brought understanding
Ina 1982exhibition
catalogessay on
Kahloandphotographer
TinaModotti,
LauraMulveyandPeterWollenconsider
women'sdifferencesas bothsocialconstructsand materialfact.Althoughwomen,
relegatedto the privateanddomestic
life"withnature,
31nassociationan "instinctual
Chadwickstillimpliesthe existence of an essential
female core fromwhichthe women of surrealismdrew
inspiration.
spheres,haveoftencreatedartoutof their
non-public
experiences,"thereis a danger
herethata creativity
producedby a social
condition... shouldthen be theorized as
specificto womenand naturallyexpresas such"(p. 13). Focus
sive of 'feminine'
on these realmsbywomenartistsshould
of women's
notend in a "celebration"
differentestheticbutin "analysisof the
femalecondition"
(p. 13). Kahlo'spaintings
from
her
interior
experiencesand
emerge
and
were
paintedat home,which
feelings
aretraditional
sourcesforandconditions
underwhichwomen'sarthas been produced.Yet,Kahlo'sartdoes notpassively
reflectherexperiences:
FridaKahlodevelopedherownsense of
and "Mexican-ness"
to an
"rootedness"
extreme degree ... She was noted espe-
ciallyforheruse of Tehuanacostume- the
longdresses of the womenof Tehuantepec
in SouthernMexicowhoenjoyeda mythic
fortheirpersonaland economic
reputation
independence.(p. 18;emphasisadded)
Kahlo'sactivechoosingis continued,they
feel, in herart:in naivestyle, in heruse of
detail,inthe subjectof painandsuffering,
and, inthe case of herex-votopaintingson
tin,in media.4Thechoiceswere political,
accordingto MulveyandWollen,foreach
can be tracedto its associationswith
people
popularartformsof the "common"
thatwerecelebratedby leadingMexican
artistsof thisperiod.Itis inthiscontextthat
MulveyandWollenunderstandKahlo's
workas an instanceof "thepersonalis
the politicaland
political,"
foregrounding
socialcontextsof thisfeministslogan,
ratherthanany "natural"
associationsof
womenwiththeirinterior/personal
realms.
also
Kahlo's
with
They
compare
artmaking
thatof Modotti,notingdifferencesas well
as similarities.
MulveyandWollenare carefulto place
the workof KahloandModottiin specific
artistic,social,political,and historical
contexts,includingMexicoafterthe
the Mexicanrenaissance,and
revolution,
surrealism.
These influencesare
European
understoodas reflectingupon"theindividuallifeexperiencesof twoverydifferent
women"andthe resultingarteach made
4Ex-votosare traditionalreligiouspaintingson tin
thatare small in size done by folkartists.
ArtEducation/March
1992
45
(p. 23). The authors'concept of women as
diverse, and of women's identityas socially
constructed,leads to a contextualfeminist
analysis that places the artworkwithin
personal, political,social, and cultural
spheres. The experience of being a women
is modifiedby these contexts, allowingfor
differences between women, and negating
any universalconcept of an essential
woman. Gender experience is understood
to functioninseparablywithother contexts.
The Others
Ifone of the projectsof feminist art criticism has been the restorationof women to
the canon, isn'tevery criticwho argues
FridaKahlo'swork is importantart de facto
a feministcritic?Not unless the writing
helps us understandthe relationshipsof
gender to artisticproductionand valuing.
Andnotunless itcontributes
to the processes of changingthe socialconditions
thatoppresswomenand/orof bringingnew
to the undermeaningsandsubjectivities
standingof womenandart.Thismaybe
that
accomplished
throughrecognition
womenhavebeen wrongfully
omittedfrom
andthroughutilization
of
recognition
alternatecriteriainevaluatingartthatallow
forwomen'sdifferentexperiencesof the
world(understood
as sociallydetermined
or innate).Additionally,
the writermust
placegenderas a central,or equally
weighted,themein hisor heressay.
In"Frida
Kahlo:The Palette,The Pain,
andThePainter,"
HaydenHerrera(1983b)
buildsa psychological
profileof the artist
throughanalyzingKahlo'spaintings.
Herrera's
thesis is that"Kahlo's
paintings
showus the miserybehindherfacadeof
with
alegria"(p. 60). Embellished
liberally
details(including
Kahlo's
biographical
withherfather,herexperience
relationship
withpolio,the bus accidentthatpermanentlydisabledthe artistandmadeit
impossibleforherto bearchildren,her
teenageboyfriend,herlifewithhusband
DiegoRivera,herlovers,herrecoveries
and relapsesto healthandintoillness,and
so on), HerrerarevealsKahlo'spaintings
as acts of therapyandmeansforsurvival.
Herrera
tracesthe meaningof individual
paintingsto specificeventsin Kahlo'slife.
HenryFordHospitaldepictsKahlo's1932
miscarriage.
MyBirthreiteratesthe same
andalso refersto the deathof
miscarriage
Kahlo'smother.LittleDeer(LaVenadita)
46 ArtEducation/March
1992
refersto a spinalfusionthe artistunderwent,andalso, Herrera
conjectures,to
Kahlo'sinjuryin loveas well.Where
physicalfactsof Kahlo'slifedo notparallel
the iconography
in herpaintings,Herrera
"vividsymbolsof painin love. In
interprets
Remembrance
of an OpenWoundand
Whatthe WaterGaveMeor WhatI Saw in
the Water(Loque el aguame dioor Lo
que vien el agua)forexample,the longcut
on Kahlo'sinnerthighis "aninvention- it
pointsto herdamagedsense of self as a
sexualbeing"(p. 62). Itis throughthis
associationof sex withphysicalinjurythat
Herrerasees Kahlo'sworkas surrealistic.
Herrera's
of the artwork
as
interpretation
surrealistic
Chadwick's
on
parallels
essay
womensurrealists;
Herrera'sunderstandingof the artas therapyparallels
Orenstein'snamingKahloan "ArtistCurandera."
Chadwick,however,distinthe
women
surrealists'expression
guishes
of fantasiesandsexualitiesfromthose of
men.Orenstein'shealingtakes place inthe
contextof associatingthe artwork
with
and
female
earth
goddesses
symbols.
UnderHerrera's
pen,the socio-political
meaningsof feministartcriticismare lostto
a highlyspecificaccountof the biographical detailsof one woman'slife.Herprofile
of Kahloevolves intoa morassof pain,
distress,drugandalcohol
psychological
addictions.Herreraleads thisintoan
hypothesisputforthby one of Kahlo's
doctors,thatthe artistdeveloped
Munchausen
syndrome.
Anindividual
sufferingfromMunchausen
syndromewantsto be a patientand willgo
fromhospitalto hospitalin orderto finda
placewherethe fictitiousnatureof his or
hersymptomshas notalreadybeen
discovered ... Being a patient was part of
it
[Kahlo's]theatrical
self-presentation,
wentwithherclothes,it wentwithher
exoticpersonality,it wentwiththe dramaof
herart.(1983b,pp. 62, 66)
Thoughsome of Kahlo'slastpaintingsare
blatantly
political,andHerrerarecordsthis,
she abandon'sdiscussionof the
ultimately
networkfora characterization
of "Frida's"
end,anda finalhypothesisof the cause of
herdeath."Ordinarily,"
remarksSerge
Fauchereau,anothercriticwho has written
of FridaKahlo,the manydetailsof an
artist'slife"wouldnotnecessarilyrelateto
the artist'swork,yet inthe case of Kahlo
one cannotoverlookit,since herartis
openlyautobiographical"
(1986,p. 88).
Withthe exceptionof Herrera's
essay,
however,criticswritingaboutFridaKahlo's
arttaketheiriconographical
interpretations
existence.
beyondthe artist'sparticular
Feministcriticsworkto uncoveran underof genderto
standingof the relationships
artisticproduction
andvaluing.
ManycriticshaveconsideredKahlo's
workwithinthe framework
of surrealism.
WhitneyChadwickexploredherartwithin
the contextof womensurrealists.A numberof writerstreatitwithinthe framework
of Mexicansurrealism.Serge Fauchereau
of
(1986)includesKahloin his examination
in Mexico,"
"Surrealism
the
her
calling
"mostclearlysurrealist"
of Mexicanartists
inthe 1920s and'30s (p. 88). He argues,
"sheuncalculatingly
transposedto canvas
herdreamsandthe ghoststhathaunted
her,assemblingherdiversepictorial
elementswithno regardforlogic,realism,
or perspective"
(p. 90). As example,he
offersthe conglomeration
of objects
in
What
the
Water
GaveMe/WhatI
painted
saw in the waterwhichare "adead bird,a
womanbeingstrangled,Kahlo'sparents,a
boat,a skeleton,plants,a tightropewalker,
a volcanofromwhicheruptsa skyscraperlikebabybottle,two nakedwomenon a
bed, and more"(p. 90). Thesymbols,
whichFauchereaucalls "Boschian"
in
character,are decipherablehe claims,but
theirmeaningsare lost inthe mysteryof
the unconscious.Fauchereauinterprets
Kahlo'suse of these symbolsto her
knowthe
heritage.Mexicansintuitively
surreal,he claims,as "aculturalmanifestation"(p. 90). Fauchereau'sanalysisis
inthatit explores
interestingand important
the artist'sworkin relationship
to surrealism,withwhichKahlois sometimes
associated.Hisanalysisis notfeminist.
NancyBreslow(1982)also emphasized
Mexicancultureas havinga predominant
influenceon Kahlo'swork.Moreover,she
argued it was the artist's intended refer-
ence. "Itis notto Europethatshe gave her
Brestlowwrites."Heradmiraallegiance,"
tionforMexicanfolkartsandthe use of a
folkartmedium(oilon tin)5precededand
5Theseare the ex-votopaintings.Kahloutilized
this mediumin some, but by no means all, of her
paintings.
was morebasicto herthanany European
movement"
avant-garde
(p. 123). Focusing
on
Kahlo's
particularly
paintingknownin
the UnitedStatesbothas TheSquareIs
Theirsand FiveInhabitants
of Mexico,
Breslowinterpretsit as a pun of surrealist
painting.Kahloconsciouslyplacedher
Mexicannationalism
as peremptory
to
art
Breslow
European styles.
analyzesin
carefuldetaileach one of the symbolsin
thispaintingas an iconof MexicanpreColumbian
andfolkarts.Hersis an iconographicalstudyforthe purposesof establishingKahlo'sinfluencesas Mexican,not
European.
Summaryand Conclusion
Fourthemesthreadthroughthese seven
essays on FridaKahlo'sart.Herpaintings
areconsideredagainstherMexican
heritage,as belongingto the surrealist
movement,forwhattheytellus abouther,
andas expressionsof gender.Throughmy
analyses,Ido notwish to implythatone
themeis moreworthythananother.
Indeed,togethertheyforma betterunderstandingof Kahlo'swork.To interpret
Kahlo'sworkwithoutreferenceto her
existenceas a woman,however,gives an
incompletereadingof herpaintings.To
overlookthe historical
andartisticperiods
inwhichlived,herclass, herpolitical
herallegianceto herMexican
affiliations,
or
heritage, to ignorethe physicaland
traumasof herpersonallife
psychological
make
foran incompleteundersimilarly
of
the
standing
meaningof Kahlo'sart.
Thefeministessays describedabove
illustrate
distinctions
between
important
feminists.GloriaOrenstein'sessay is a
discussionof the relationship
of Kahlo's
the
to
and
iconography
physical psychologicalconditionsof the artist'slife.These
conditionsare interpreted
as an expression
of Kahlo'sfemaleness,whichin
Orenstein'smindis connectedto nature.In
thisassociation,Orensteinpositsa female
findsin
sensibilityin art.LucyLippard
Kahlo'sworka femalesensibilityconnectedto nature,apparentbecauseof the
artist'sconsciousnessof herIndianand
Mexicanheritages.The implication
is that
an essentiallinkbetweenwomanand
naturecan be erasedor hiddenby cultural
factors.WhitneyChadwickalso triesto
establisha femalesensibility,generalizable
ArtEducation/March
1992
47
at least to women in the surrealistmovement. She too associates women with
nature,but unlikeOrenstein,she understands this association not as innateor
generalizableto all women, but as socially
constructedand perhaps consciously
chosen by Kahlo.Mulveyand Wollen
emphasize differences between women,
that women's homogeneity is the tension
experienced between abstractsocial
expectationsfor women and the actuality
of being a woman. They furtherargue that
withinany given social, economic, ethnic,
and culturalstratum,women willoccupy,
as a class, positions inferiorto those held
by men. Mulveyand Wollen'scritique
typifiesmuch recent feministscholarship,
characterizedby an idea aboutwomen as
sociallyconstructedand ever-changing.
There is, then, no female sensibility
generalizableto all women. Differences
between women become the subject, with
culturaland class influences highlighted.
The feministmovement has grown in the
last decade to encompass morethan
gender issues. Manyfeminists, myself
included,willargue that in many instances,
gender issues are properlyforegrounded
by those of race, ethnicity,class, age,
sexual preference, or other factors. In
expandingthe breadthof influences on
social and culturaldynamics and those
contributingto the make-upof the individual,we are betterable to understand
differences between people and to formulate strategies to ameliorateproblemsof
inequityand misunderstanding.Butthis
does not signal the end of the importance
of feminism.Women as a group still
occupy social positions less valued and
respected, less economicallyrewarded,
and with less powerto determinetheir
density than do men. Motherhoodis stilla
"low-statusjob,"women earn on the
average 66 cents to the dollarmen earn,
and women in professionaljobs often
reach with is called a "glass ceiling"- a
bias barrier(Wallis,1990, 85). In art, less
than 10%of artistsshown at majorgalleries and museums or featured in art magazines with nationaland international
circulationare women (Withers,1988).
These issues affect the lifeworldsof our
students and how they understandart.
Feminismis an issue for the artclassroom
of the 1990s.
48 ArtEducatiornMarch
1992
ElizabethGarberis an Assistant Professor in
the ArtEducationProgramat The Pennsylvania
State University.
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