We began with finishing our look at Frida Kahlo and Surrealism. Even though she didn’t identify with Surrealist style because she was painting her reality instead of her dreams, her artwork was labeled Surrealist by other artists. Her work The Two Fridas represents both her indigenous and European heritages by painting herself as two separate women. The traditional Mexican clothing worn by one Frida contrasts with the stiff Victorian-era clothing of the other Frida. The painting represents her dual identity shown by her two connected hearts, as well has including symbols of her traumatic health with a surgical tool and her personal relationships with a small portrait of her husband Rivera.
We also looked at many styles that were popular in regions and had shorter spans of influence. Piet Mondrian is famous from his work within the Dutch De Stijl style, an abstraction that was also known as Neoplasticism. As with other 20th century art, reduction was the driving force. Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow is horizontal and vertical lines creating boxes, some of which are filled with primary colors. There is no shading or depth present, and no foreground or background. Architect Le Corbusier designed the house Villa Savoye that could fit into Purism with its plain white walls inside and out and simple geometric form. In terms of Post War Art, the art capital moved from a recovering Paris to the US. Abstract Expressionism took many forms: action painting, color fields, and hard edge abstraction. The emphasis continues to be less on subject and instead of evoking feeling and pushing the boundaries of art’s definition. Rothko’s No. 61 (Rust and Blue), paintings by Helen Frankenthaler, Kelly’s Red Blue Green, and Odalisk by Rauschenberg are all prime examples of the varying interpretations and styles of what is art.