BEING FRIDA - 2019
An attempt to to illustrate the biography of an artist through a series of photographs and quotes stated by the artist.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Dr. Prem Muthu
COSTUME AND STYLING: Vibha Kulkarni
“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.“
- Frida Kahlo
“I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration”
- Frida Kahlo
- Frida Kahlo
“ I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you. “
- Frida Kahlo
- Frida Kahlo
“I hope the leaving is joyful; and I hope never to return.”
-Frida Kahlo. (Thinking about Death,1943)
-Frida Kahlo. (Thinking about Death,1943)
“I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration”
- Frida Kahlo
- Frida Kahlo
“People in general are scared to death of the war and all the exhibition have been a failure, because the rich - don't want to buy anything.”
-Frida Kahlo
-Frida Kahlo
“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”
-Frida Kahlo
-Frida Kahlo
BEING FRIDA - 2013
Performance Art
5th August 2013
On being compared with the artist Frida Kahlo, I decided to role-play Frida for a day.
I performed as Frida Kahlo resurrected in 2013 walking around in an art college.
My experience with the "being Frida Kahlo" performance:
I walked into every dept dressed as Frida Kahlo followed by making a self-portrait in front of the college entrance gate.
I was glad to see the reactions of both, people who identified the character of who I was playing as well as the interesting reactions of those who did not know the artist.
It was a good experience to be dressed like "not yourself" for a day and make a self portrait of the new identity created for the time being...
A lot of thoughts came to my mind during the performance, which were as follows:
"What if the real artist walked into a classroom when the lecturer is talking about her/him,would people actually believe it? Practically no, but hypothetically?"
"Being in the shoes of someone who has lived a lifetime worth being studied is indeed an honour"
"What if the person came alive to correct his/her biographies because MAYBE what he/she meant while being alive was not correctly interpreted?"
AND what if "whatever you are judged for in your lifetime maybe judged differently after you're dead!?"
and many more...
On being compared with the artist Frida Kahlo, I decided to role-play Frida for a day.
I performed as Frida Kahlo resurrected in 2013 walking around in an art college.
My experience with the "being Frida Kahlo" performance:
I walked into every dept dressed as Frida Kahlo followed by making a self-portrait in front of the college entrance gate.
I was glad to see the reactions of both, people who identified the character of who I was playing as well as the interesting reactions of those who did not know the artist.
It was a good experience to be dressed like "not yourself" for a day and make a self portrait of the new identity created for the time being...
A lot of thoughts came to my mind during the performance, which were as follows:
"What if the real artist walked into a classroom when the lecturer is talking about her/him,would people actually believe it? Practically no, but hypothetically?"
"Being in the shoes of someone who has lived a lifetime worth being studied is indeed an honour"
"What if the person came alive to correct his/her biographies because MAYBE what he/she meant while being alive was not correctly interpreted?"
AND what if "whatever you are judged for in your lifetime maybe judged differently after you're dead!?"
and many more...