“Ruminating Frida”: Tribute to Frida Kahlo on her 114th Birth Anniversary
Frida is someone who is close to everyone’s heart. Like a goddess, she is referred to by her first name only. Madonna, Isabella Rossellini and Cindy Crawford are fans. She has captivated everyone from scholars writing dissertations to Chicano muralists, fashion designers, feminists, artists and homosexuals. Everywhere you go in Mexico, you will see Frida Kahlo. Her face, famous for the lovely uni-brow and direct, badass stare, is imprinted on walls, bags, posters, and t-shirts. Not only India, every art inclined person is obsessed with Frida. “Feet, what do I want them for if I have wings to fly”, these magical words enunciated by Frida Kahlo define the iconic painter in more ways than one. Free-spirited and unorthodox, Frida Kahlo is revered as a female role model who took on the taboos of her day. Frida was known for her self-portraits, she was a feminist who broke societal norms by embracing her deformities.
She set her own trend by sporting a unibrow, a moustache and unique headgear. Kahlo’s story begins in 1907. She was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda in Mexico City. Kahlo’s father was a German photographer. Frida Kahlo contracted polio around the age of 6 and she was bedridden for the next nine months. The illness damaged her right leg and foot and left her with a limp and this was just the beginning of a life full of setbacks, one that Frida immortalised in her work. The magic realism queen’s life was full of tribulations unimaginable to most people, Frida still lived life on her own terms, unrestricted and like a free bird. To celebrate the 114th Birth Anniversary of the Queen of Magic Realism eminent singer and painter organised a Solo Exhibition tittled “Ruminating Frida“.
Ruminating Frida is a Virtual Solo Exhibition by Soumita because of the covid situation. Due to the pandemic situation, the Exhibition is kept Virtual. The iconic Mexican painter turns Soumita’s Muse. Frida can be seen in different art form coruscating Soumita’s canvas. Soumita who is quite vocal about being an ardent Frida Fan says ” Frida taught us self-love and acceptance, this is evident in her self-image portraits where she sports a unibrow as well as a moustache. Such an image does not conform to a patriarchal society’s image of a woman who has perfectly shaped eyebrows and definitely no moustache. She preached the beauty of Aberrant. I have seen painters who are the epitome of perfection but very few are brilliant painter of themselves, things that came to their mind and portraying pain and Aberrant things beautifully.” Soumita Saha is a popular singer and painter. Her artwork not only gets Exhibited in different cities in India but also Exhibited abroad. Her artwork was displayed at Portland’s Artreach Gallery in November 2020. Ruminating Frida starts on Frida’s Birth Anniversary 6th July 2021 and shall continue till 13th July 2021 her Death Anniversary
