Frida's Bed: A Novel

Frida's Bed by Slavenka Drakulic

I recently read this novel about Frida Kahlo and very much enjoyed Slavenka Drakulic's interpretation of Frida's inner-most thoughts about her family and love relationships. A quick and interesting read.

Rachel's Frida Dress

Yesterday was the closing day of San Jose Museum of Art's Frida Kahlo exhibition. Unfortunately it was not well advertised as the central piece was by artist Rachel-Anne Palacios.

She re-created a larger-than-life version of the self-portrait Frida made for Trotsky. Exhibition attendees were then invited to create butterflies with messages for Frida or anyone they wanted to remember. These were pinned to the curtains, creating a cloud of beautiful colors. There are so many that each day the staff removed the old butterflies to make room for new ones. Rachel is going to save some and hopefully take them to Museo Frida Kahlo. The rest will be burned in a ceremony to commemorate Frida.

Frida Kahlo: Portraits of an Icon

Just five days before it closes I found out about the San Jose Museum of Art exhibition Frida Kahlo: Portraits of an Icon. Checking it out this weekend!

Saturday, October 11, 2008 through Sunday, March 22, 2009

Shedding light on the life and art of Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954), this exhibition features approximately fifty photographic portraits of the legendary Mexican artist. Drawn from the collection of Spencer Throckmorton, a specialist in Latin American photography, the exhibition includes works by several of the most renowned photographers of the twentieth century: Manuel Alvarez Bravo and Nickolas Muray.

Image: Photo by Nickolas Muray Frida Kahlo on White Bench #30, 1938 Color Carbon Print Image: 14 ½ x 11 ½ inches © Nickolas Muray Photo Archive

Call for Submissions

Curator Rachel-Anne Placios has put out a call for entries for the July 13 - August 28, 2009 exhibition The Many Faces of Frida. The venue is a the arts collaboration of the City of Oakland, State of California Craft and Cultural Arts Gallery located in the State of California Office Building, 1515 Clay Street-Atrium in Oakland, CA.

Application available online.
Open to artists of all ages from the Bay area and beyond!
Submissions deadline: Friday, May 1, 2009

Re-Inspired!

This week I had the pleasure of meeting San Francisco Bay Area artist and curator Rachel-Anne Palacios who is all things Frida Kahlo. She has totally re-inspired me to post about Frida.