South Atlantic Modern Language Association

Remembrance of an Open Wound: Frida Kahlo and Post-revolutionary Mexican Identity

Author(s): Corrine Andersen
Source: South Atlantic Review, Vol. 74, No. 4, Reflections on Empire: Depictions of Latin
American Colonization in Literature, Film, and Art (Fall 2009), pp. 119-130
Published by: South Atlantic Modern Language Association
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 Remembrance of an Open Wound:1

Frida Kahlo and Post-revolutionary

Mexican Identity2

Corrine Andersen
Peace Collrgf.

Hayden Herrera's1983 biographyof Frida Kahlo set in motion

a tidalwave of interestin the artist'slifeand work. AlthoughHerrera
deservesmuch praise,her psycho-biographic approachled to a flood
of criticismthatdiagnosedKahlo's artas a symptomof her turbulent
privatelife. Criticswho focus on Kahlo's biographytendto overlook
herpublicagencyand activism.More thancriesforlove,or desperate
soul searches,Kahlo's self-portraitsinvestigate theculturaland political
tensionsof hercontemporary Mexico.
On theone hand,one can see how theAztec,Zapotee, and Mexican
folkimageryin Kahlo's paintingsreflectthe nationalistideology of
post-revolutionary Mexico thatreveredindigenousand past traditions.
On the otherhand, Kahlo also undermines,complicatesand resists
the ideologies of nationalismthat romanticizedthe autochthonous.
Post-revolutionary indigenismo attemptedto cauterizethe wounds of
Mexico's violenthistory.In her self-representations, Kahlo not only
exposes these wounds, she lets them bleed. Through herinvestigation
of herown subjectivity, Kahlo redefinesthemodernmestizo I a.
Afterthe Mexican Revolutionof 1910, and with the electionof
Álvaro Obregon in 1920, Mexico began to emergefromthe positivist
philosophy that reigned during Porfirio Diaz's thirty-four year
dictatorship.The àentificos,or positivistintellectuals, and
professionals,
officialsof thedictatorialregime viewed societyas an organismsubject
to theuniversallaws of evolution. "They saw theirmissionas leading
Mexico down the scientifically-founded path towardsWestern-style
'civilization'"(Hijar Serrano 19). The Diaz administration despised
indigenous Mexican cultureand held the United Statesand Europe up
as models foreconomicsand culture.
After the overthrowof the Diaz regime, the newly elected
governmentrejectedtheanti-autochthonous philosophyand policyof

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120 CorrineAndersen
itspredecessors.Theyprovidedfundsforthecreationof public,socially
effectiveartthatwould further transmit theidealsof theRevolutionto
themasses (Declercq 32).
In 1922,Kahlo enteredtheNationalPreparatory School,a centerof
post-revolutionary Mexican nationalism. During Kahlo's period as a
student,José Vasconcelos (1882-1959)held thepositionof ministerof
education.Vasconcelos calledfor"un nuevo artenacional"thatwould
allow popularrevolutionary energiesto followthroughon a symbolic
level(HijarSerrano21). In 1921-22he commissioneda numberof artists
to paint muralsin La Preparatoria,includingKahlo's futurehusband
Diego Rivera (1886-1957). The post-revolutionary governmentand
Mexican muralistssuch as Rivera,José ClementeOrozco (1883-1949)
andDavid AlfaroSiqueiros(1896-1974) attempted to bringtheconquest
and colonizationof Mexico, as well as the "hidden histories"of the
ancientpast,to light.Theirglorification of ancientand contemporary
native cultureencourageda largelymestizopopulation to embrace a
previouslydisavowedaspectof theirheritage.
As StuartHall states,this sort of reachingback, this attemptto
unearththepast,notonlyentailsa processof rediscovery, itis intimately
involvedin the productionof identity:"not an identitygroundedin
the archeology,but in the re-telling
of thepast" (Hall 393). While Hall
does not underestimate the importanceof "imaginativerediscovery"
he also recognizeshow such acts impose falsecoherenceon the past.
"Such textsrestorean imaginaryfullnessof plenitude,to set against
the brokenrubricof our past" (Hall 394). Rivera'smurals,withtheir
communistrevisionof theAztec past,restorean imaginary fullnessto
pre-conquestindigenouslife. In otherwords,theyoperatelikea fetish.
By contrast,Kahlo's art,throughits ambiguityand tension,suggests
thatculturalidentitiesare unstableand problematic(Hall 395). Her
paintingsresistoversimplification and thereforedo not provideready
use fornationalistthemes(Cooey 99).
Although Kahlo painted her self-portraits on a much smaller
scale than the grandiosemurals,one cannot describeher art as less
politicalthan the muralists'.Many of Kahlo's paintingsdemonstrate
anti-materialist, and specifically
anti-imperialist, anti-US themes. For
example, Kahlo's My Dress Hangs There (1933) providesa critiqueof
industrialized
NorthAmerica.
Kahlo produced thisworkwhen she was livingin New York with
Rivera,who was paintinga mural in RockefellerCenter.4 Unlike

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 SouthAtlanticReview 121
Rivera'smural,withits romanticportrayalof a factoryworkerin the
center,Kahlo's paintingis devoid of any portraiture as such. Only a
deteriorating poster of Mae West,the Hollywood icon, hangs in the
background.Through thisimage, Kahlo highlights prominenceof
the
sensationalizedsexualityin the social fabricof US culture.
Kahlo depicts the destruction,greed and squander of capitalism
througha varietyof stylistictechniquesand symbolicmarkers.The
darkpalettecreatesa somber,seedy cast over the
uncharacteristically
urban sprawl. The collage methodat the base of the paintingpieces
togethernewspaperphotographsof Depression-erafood lines and
militaryparades. The cityas industrialmachine dwarfsthe ant-like
masses. The pollutionfromthe steamboatsand smokestackscoats
the New York City skyline,an uncontrollablefireburns a block of
buildings,thealmighty dollarappearsin a churchwindow,and a garbage
can overflowswithrefuse.The entirescene servesas a reminderof the
evilsand excessesof industryand consumerism.
In the midst of the chaos and decay a brighdycolored Tehuana
dress,thetraditional costumeof Zapotee women fromtheIsthmusof
Tehuantapec, and representative of a styleof dress Kahlo frequendy
wore,hangson a stringsuspendedbetweenan open toiletand a golden
trophy. The Tehuana dress starklycontrastswith the industrialand
commercialbackdropof Westernurbanism. Because Kahlo did not
paintherselfin thegarmentitsuggestsdisplacementand absence.5The
Tehuanadressstandsoutas a markerof difference. It occupiestheplace
of the exoticMexican as spectaclein the eyes of the depersonalized,
consumer-oriented, over-saturated industrial world.
To some degree,the flat,motionlessdress,like the telephone,the
toilet,the trophy,and the gas pump, serves as an emptysymbolof
culture. Kahlo firstdonned the Tehuantapeccostume aftershe met
Rivera,who often traveledto the region, and painted its people.
Althoughthe folklorethatsurroundedTehuantepecwomen probably
appealed to Kahlo,6to a largeextent,she wore traditionalclothingto
please Rivera.7He feltthatall modernMexican women should wear
traditionalMexicancostumes:
The classic Mexican dress has been created by people for
people. The Mexicanwomenwho do notwearitdo notbelong
to thepeople, but are mentallyand emotionallydependenton
a foreignclass to which theywish to belong, i.e., the great

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122 CorrineAndersen
American and French bureaucracy.(Rivera qtd. in Herrera
Frida111)
Although Rivera often spoke of Kahlo's indigenous roots,8her
upbringingwas quite bourgeois. Furthermore, "primitive"fashions
were currendyen voguein European and Americanculturalcenters.
Even as she criticizedsuperficialNew Yorkersfortheirdesireto "go
native,"Kahlo turneda criticaleye towardsherself. In a letterto a
friendshe writes:"Meanwhilesome of thegringa-women are imitating
me and tryingto dress a la Mexicana.. .and to tellyou the truththey
look absolutelyimpossible. That doesn't mean that I look good in
themeither"(HerreraFrida173). Nonetheless,Kahlo.gaineda clearer
perspectiveon Mexico fromNew York. In New York City,Kahlo
achieveda culturaldistancethatallowedherto standoffand look at her
Tehuana dressas a symbolof an idealizedand exoticizedMexicanidad?
The Tehuana dress depictedin My DressHangsThereshows up in a
self-portraitfrom1937 entitledMemory . AlthoughKahlo appears in
thiswork,once again,she does notwearthedress. Instead,ithangson
a redribbonthatmysteriously drops fromthe sky. In thebackground,
anothergarment,a schoolgirl'suniform,descendsfroma similar, vein-
like string. Kahlo, in the center,wears her hair cropped and dons
European-styleclothes. A rod penetratesthe hole that signifiesher
absentheartwhichlies,massiveand bleeding,beside her. For Herrera,
this paintingreads "as simple and directas a Valentineheart shot
throughbyan arrow."It expressesKahlo's miseryoveran affairDiego
had withKahlo's sisterCristina(HerreraThePaintings 112).
While Herreraconvincingly supportsthisreading,in myview this
paintingexpressesa conflictthatreachesbeyondKahlo's relationship
with her husband. Kahlo depicts herself as triplydivided in this
painting.NeitherFrida the schoolgirl,Kahlo the Tehuana,or Kahlo
the EuropeanizedMexican appearscomplete. While the Kahlo in the
centerlacksarms,eachof thedressescontainsone. UnlikeVasconcelos's
celebrationof "la raza cósmica,"his conceptionof a "fifthrace" of
people who representthegeneticand culturalcombinationof all of the
racesof theworld,Kahlo's bizarreself-portraitconveysherexperience
of genderand culturalidentity as fragmented.
Kahlo, whose creasedskirtand blouse accentherdivision,restsone
foot upon land and another,boat-likefoot,floatsin the ocean. The
landscapeevokestheSpaniards'arrivalon the shoresof theAmericas.
The heart,which stainsthe soil with blood, symbolizesthe ensuing

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 SouthAtlanticReview 123
violence and devastatinglegacy of the conquest. The rod, with its
potentialto teeterback and forth,impliesMexico's past and current
politicalinstability.Its positionthroughKahlo's chestfurther suggests
her, and all Mexicans', crisisof national identity.
The centerKahlo standsapart fromthe hand thatreachesout of
the schoolgirl'suniform. In thisway,Kahlo emphasizesher distance
fromher childhoodinnocence. Instead,the centerKahlo locks arms
withthe Tehuana dress. This gestureconveyssolidaritybetweenthe
indigenousand the mestica-, the same red bloodline connects them.
Nonetheless, the Kahlo in the centerweeps forthe disunitythatstill
informs their relationship.
Kahlo revisitsthe themes introducedin Memoryin her famous
paintingfrom1939, TheTwoFridas(fig.1). Upon firstglance,thiswork
callsfora dualisticreading.As Herrerasuggests,"thetwoFridas...stand
forKahlo's dual heritage"(ThePaintings 135). Upon closerexamination,
however, Kahlo destabilizes a neat dualityin TheTwoFridas,Whileone
Frida wears a Tehuana costume,the otherwears a Victorianblouse.
Nonetheless,the Frida in the Victorianblouse also wears a Tehuana
skirt. This Frida's exposed breast confoundstraditionalnotions of
Victorianprudishnessand propriety.Furthermore, the Zapotee Frida
grasps a nineteenthcenturyphotograph,10 a product of European
technology thatillustratesEuropean conventions of representation.
With theirsterngazes, the two Fridas confrontthe viewerwith
theirmultiplelocationsof self. While some of the imagerysuggests
connectionand interdependence, themesof interruption and violence
also operatewithinthepainting.AlthoughtheFridassharea bloodline,
the artificialmeans through which it functionsunderscores the
precariousbasis of theirrelationship.The Fridasattemptto cauterize
the exposed vein witha smallphotograph,on one end, and a surgical
clamp,on the other. Despite theirefforts, blood spillson the white
Tehuana skirt,and replacesits floralpattern.Once again,theviolence
of thepast makesup the social fabricof thepresent.
The Two Fridasdoes not reproduce the stabilityof a dyad, but
exemplifies theprocessof transculturation. This paintingacknowledges
a thirdculturalposition,notcriollo,nnotnative,butmestizo. Nonetheless,
Kahlo avoids an excessivelyharmoniouscelebrationof theinteraction
of culturalcomponentsin thispainting.The Fridas hold hands,but
ratherdispassionately.The stormysky and the extremetiltof the
bench add further tensionto the scene. The portraitdoes not exude

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124 CorrineAndersen

Figure1: TheTwoFridas

peace and harmony,but uneasiness and awkwardness. In this way,

Kahlo destabilizesthe post-revolutionaryfantasyof the mestizo as the
harmoniously balanced geneticand cultural
combination of the Meso-
Americanautochthonousand the Spanish conquerors. In The Two
Fridas,Kahlo exposes an unconscioussignifying chain thatchallenges
the structureof thisnewlyformedideal (Ragland-Sullivan 59, 63).
Even when Kahlo's physicalbody remainsunified,her image does
notnecessarilyconveycoherence.In herpaintingfrom1932,S elf-Portrait
on theBorderLine betweenMexicoand theUnitedStates, Kahlo appearsin
a conservativelylong, old-fashioned,pink dress and wears whitelace
gloves. The stonepedestalshe standson bearsherChristianfirstname
"Carmen" and her husband'slast name "Rivera,"not her usual "Frida
Kahlo." In otherwords,at leastpartially,
Westernpatriarchal tradition
definesheridentity.

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 SouthAtlanticReview 125
Althoughhergarmentsdo notreflect theTehuanastyle, Kahlo adorns
a Coatlicueu-Ysktnecklace. In furthercontradistinction to her rather
delicateraiment,herconfrontational gaze anything demure.The
is but
cigarette she holds in her righthand and her visiblenipplesall signify
rebelliousness,defiance. Kahlo representsherselfas a combination
of European civility, stoicindigenousness, and macho grit. Kahlo not
only resistsan essential but
femininity, an essential mexicannessin this
painting.She representsherselfas a productof both constructs.
In thiswork,likeMyDressHangsThere ,Kahlo presentsa critiqueof the
US. The US landscape,withitsbillowingsmokestacksand skyscrapers,
revealstheUnitedStates'disregardforitsnativepast. WhiletheAztec
landscapesupportsa varietyof firmly rootedvegetation,on theside of
theUnitedStatesmachinessproutcords underground.Kahlo stresses
theUnitedStates'imperialist desiresas well as its artificialrelationship
withtheland in thispainting.The US machinesfeedoff of theAztec
vegetation.AlthoughJaniceHeiland suggeststhatKahlo providesan
"idealizationof the Aztec past"(8) in thispainting,certaindetailsdo
not supportthis view. For example,Kahlo does not paint the pre-
Columbianartifacts in an exaltedway;instead,theyare smalland fairly
haphazardlystrewn.
ontheBorder
In Self-Portrait the artifactson both sides of the border
can be understoodas the ideological tools of nationalpropaganda.
Kahlo standson the borderbetweenthe industryand technologyof
the United States' presentand the ruins of the Aztec past. In this
painting,Kahlo representsherselfas a bordersubject. Althoughshe
holds a Mexican flag,thisdoes not suggesther patriotism.She does
not wave the flag,but casuallyletsit restnearherwaist. Here, Kahlo
embodiesmodernMexico; she locatesthemodernmestica betweentwo
radicallydifferentand faulty ideals.
In FourInhabitants ofMexico(1938) Kahlo further exploresthepost-
revolutionary Mexican psyche. In this work, "the inhabitants" stand
larger than lifeand represent various stereotypes of Mexican identity
(McDaniel Tarver18). As in Self-Portrait on theBorder ; Kahlo includes
an imperfectclay idol in this painting. Its broken off feet suggest
immobility and instability.Justas the statueexistsas incomplete,so
are constructedhistoriesof the past. Kahlo coverstheJudasfigure,13
or the stereotypical macho,with explosivesand fuses thatsymbolize
his violent,dangerous,and self-destructive tendencies(Herrera The
Paintings24). The papier-mâché skeleton stands forthe Mexican cult

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/26 CorrineAndersen
of deathor "themyththatMexicansare unafraidof death" (McDaniel
Tarver19). The strawfigurerepresentsa revolutionary, the "fragility
and pathosin Mexicanlife,a poignantmixtureof poverty[and]pride"
(HerreraThePaintings 18).
Despite the title,Kahlo actuallydepicts five inhabitantsin this
painting.A smallchild,similarin appearanceto a youngKahlo, sitsin
wonderand fearas she gazes up at thefiguresthattoweroverher. This
childsymbolizesKahlo's entiregeneration,or thepost-revolutionaries
who find themselvesoverwhelmedby the mythsof the past and
present. In FourInhabitants, Kahlo exposes the shallownationalunity
of her contemporaryMexico. As Benedict Anderson suggests,
regardlessof "the actualinequalityand exploitationthatmayprevail"
the nationis "alwaysperceivedas a community" or "a deep, horizontal
comradeship"(16). In this painting,Kahlo impliesthat,despite the
fervent propaganda,no suchbonds exist.The barrenlandscape,devoid
of organiclife,underscoresthissense of alienation.The figures'deep
shadowsconfirmtheirisolatedand artificial existence.
Three of the fourinhabitantsreappear,in slighdydifferent forms,
in The Wounded Table(1940). No longera bewilderedchild,an adult-
sized Kahlo claimsa seatat thetable. Kahlo, as nuevo-Tehuana,bleeds
among the others,a martyrforMexicanidad.In thisway,The Wounded
TablesupportsRoger Bartra'sanalysisof post-revolutionary Mexican
culture.As Bartraargues:
Postrevolutionary Mexican societyproduces the subjects of its
own nationalculture.... the hegemonicpoliticalculturehas
been creatingits characteristic subjectsand has bound them
to various universallyapplicable archetypes....the subjects
become actors,and the subjectivity is transformed into
theater.(2)
The curtainsthat framethis work, as well as the foreground's
tiltedperspective,suggest a stage. Here, Kahlo commentson the
performative aspects of Mexican identity.Kahlo suggeststhat this
performance rests somewherebetweenmimicryand masquerade. In
Wounded Kahlo
Table, parodies the stereotypesof mexicanness. The
shadowlessinhabitantsappear as one-dimensionalcaricaturesof their
former,alreadycaricatured, selves. The skeleton,forexample,withits
springyappendages, looks like a jack-in-the-box.Tied to a chairfor
it
stability, cannotsupportitsown weight.The Judas'shead, shrunkto
an ironicallysmallsize,oozes withblood.

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 SouthAtlantic'Review 127
Despite her critique,Kahlo also suggests that these archetypes
informheridentity. UnlikeinFourInhabitants,thefigures of thispainting
interactwiththeratherstoicKahlo. The Judasplaces a possessivearm
around Kahlo 's neck, the skeletonplayfully liftsup a section of her
hair,and theNayaritstatue'sarmmeldswithherown. Kahlo does not
resisttheirtouch,butacceptsit;heridentity is inextricablytiedto theirs.
Bound but also supportedby the stereotypes thatsurroundher,Kahlo
demandstheviewer'srecognition.She does not make excuses forher
but claimscenterstageforherself.
participation,
In My Nurseand I (1937)(fig.2) Kahlo produces a different take
on the mythsof Mexican identitythathave nurturedher. As in Four
Inhabitants
ofMexico , Kahlo representsherselfas a childin thispainting.
her
Although body conforms to infantile
proportions, herhead appears
eerilyadult-sized. As in The TwoFridas,a pronouncedawkwardness
definesthe relationshipbetweenthe two figures. The infantKahlo
does not burrowinto the nurse'sbosom, but staresoff distandyinto
space. She does not suck fromthe nurse'sbreast,but passivelyallows
milkto dripintohermouth. Throughthisresignedrelationship, Kahlo

Figure2: TheNurseandI

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128 CorrineAndersen
implicitlycritiquesromanticrepresentations of the Indian motheras
nurturer.
The pre-Columbianfunerary maskdoes not conceal thenurse'sface
as much as it suggeststhatno "true"visage hides underneath.In My
NurseandI, "the relationshipof the mestizo presentto the distantpre-
conquestpast is articulatedwith wonderful clarityas one governednot
by naturebut by nurture" (Braddeley18). Kahlo is not nursedby her
Aztec mother,but by a reconstruction of the Aztec past. The mask
the
symbolizes post-revolutionary government's attemptsto mend"the
brokenrubric"of Mexico'spast. Nonetheless,thishealingprocesshas
not been entirelysuccessful. The milkthatfallsin the infantKahlo's
mouth,like the rain thatfallsfromthe sky,resemblesthe tearsspilt
fromKahlo's eyesin Memory.
While not immediatelyapparent,the nurse'slong, dark hair and
mono-browsuggestKahlo's likeness. In otherwords,Kahlo locates
her own subjectivity withinpost-revolutionary reconstructions of the
past. As StuartHall states,'identitiesare the names we give to the
differentwayswe are positionedby,and positionourselveswithin,the
narrativesof the past" (Hall 394). Kahlo cannot separateher own
identityfromthe re-tellings of the past she was nurturedon. These
re-tellingsalso include Catholic myth.This classiccompositionof the
Madonna and child,doubles as a pietà.
As Daniel Cooper Alarcónexplains,mexicannesscan be understood
as a palimpsest,or "a sitewhere textshave been superimposedonto
others in an attemptto displace earlier or competing histories"
(xiv). Here, post-revolutionary indigenismohas displaced the anti-
autochthonous,positivistphilosophyof the científicos. However,in her
paintings,Kahlo suggeststhat such displacements are never total. "The
suppressed material oftenremains legible,howeverfaindy, challenging
thedominanttextwithan alternate versionof events"(Cooper Alarcón
xiv). Kahlo's representations of the subjectexplorethe "suppressed
material"of thepost-revolutionaries' "dominanttext."
In her politicallychargedpaintings,Kahlo investigates the tensions
of her contemporaryMexico. She does not dismiss or reject the
artifactsof Aztec lifeor the costumesof traditional Mexican people,
but refusesto romanticizethem. As a result,she presentsher viewer
with a powerfulcritiqueof post-revolutionary propaganda. Kahlo
represents Mexico's violent past as an open wound.

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 SouthAtlanticReview 129

Notes
11take tideforthis from oneofKahlo'spaintings, Remembrance ofanOpen
my chapter
Wound {1938).
2 I owea debtof totheCenter forLatinAmerican andCaribbean Studiesat
gratitude
theUniversity ofIllinoisfortheTinker Foundation Summer FieldGrant thatenabled
metotravel toMexicoCityandstudy Kahlo'sart.
3Here, refersto Mexicans' inandsupport
interest forthe
indigenismo post-revolutionary
nativepeoples oftheWestern hemisphere.
4Thiswork wasdestroyed afterNelsonRockefeller objectedtoRivera's of a
inclusion
portraitofLenin.
5 to Herrera, KahlodidnotenjoyherstayinNewYorkCity, andoften
According
complained ofhomesickness. PartofKahlo'sdiscontent stemmed from theracism she
experienced. Theclienteleandstaff atherhotelfrequently snubbed her.Furthermore,
herattire often unwanted
solicited attention(a childonceaskedKahloifthecircus was
intown).Forfurther seeHerrera,
details, Frida:A BiographyofFrida Kahlo.
6 "Theirs is a matriarchal societywherewomenrunthemarkets, handlethefiscal
matters, anddominate themen"(Herrera Frida 109).
7 toHerrera, Kahlodressed inmodern, European-influenced attire
whenever
According
thecouplefought, orbroke up.
8Kahlo'sfather wasborninGermany, toHungarian parents, andmovedtoMexico
as a
City young man. He married Matilde Calderón,whose mother wasmestica and
fatherindigenous. As Kahlo
discussed, attended The National Preparatory School,
Mexico's premier where
institution, shewasoneofthirty-five ina student
girls bodyof
over2000(Herrera ThePaintings31).
9Mexicanidad referstothepost-revolutionarydefinitionofmexicanness.
10Thisisa miniature ofDiegoRivera as a child
(HerreraFrida 278).
portrait
11A criolloisa person of"pure"Spanish ancestry bornintheNewWorld.
12Coatlicue isa pre-Columbian goddess.
13 arebrighdy painted,wood,plaster, orstonecastscovered withpaper.
Judas effigies
Theyaretypically madelarger thanlifesizeandusedduring religiouscelebrations/
holidays. TheJudas inthispainting,withitsblueoveralls,isreminiscent ofRivera.

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List of Figures Cited

1. Kahlo,Frida.TheTwoFridas
, 1939. Oil on canvas,
67"x 67". Collection
of the
MuseodeArteModerno, MexicoCity.Courtesy of theMuseum of Modern Art
andArtResource.© BancodeMexico Trust.
2. Kahlo,FridaMyNurse andI, 1937. Oil on Metal,12 1/2"x 14".Collection
of
DoloresOlmedoFoundation, MexicoCity.Courtesyof theMuseum of Modern
ArtandArtResource.© BancodeMexico Trust.

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