Frida Kahlo's dawn of political activism began when a handrail impaled her during an automobile accident at the age of eighteen. He suffered fractures to both his spine and pelvis. After being bedridden for several months, she decided to bring her emotions to life through the bright colors of her paintbrush. His influences were the indigenous cultures of Mexico and European culture, which included: realism, symbolism and surrealism. Years later, Kahlo married another muse of her artwork, Diego Rivera. After much infidelity, the couple divorced and got back together shortly after. Taking a look at "Las Dos Fridas", her "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbirds" and her "Self-Portrait with Cut Hair", it is evident that Kahlo created her own visual language through her artwork depicting the heartbreak she faced in her marriage, her mixed heritage, her serious medical conditions, and the oppression of women, in an effort to evoke reflection in her audience. Today she is famous for her stark self-portraits painted in jarring colors and bizarre scenery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of his best-known pieces is “Las Dos Fridas,” which translates to “The Two Fridas.” It was completed in 1939. This self-portrait depicts two identical Kahlos, one in European-style clothing and one in traditional Mexican clothing. He is holding hands on a bench outdoors in cloudy weather. On the left is the European Kahlo in a bloody white dress holding a hemostat, a surgical instrument used to control bleeding. On the right is Mexican Kahlo holding a portrait of Rivera. She is connected to her other self by a shared blood vessel that flows to her other heart. She created this new painting to replace an older painting of her and her ex-husband, Rivera. This is his way of moving on from his past, difficult relationship with Rivera to reconciling new growth within himself. Kahlo uses strong pathos to allow the audience to vicariously feel her pain in this work of art. The blood stains on her white dress show that it was a chaotic recovery, but the hemostat in her hand indicates that she had control over how she used her pain. Even though a lover's grief is difficult, he allows the brush to be a form of catharsis for his pain. His heart is exposed in this painting to reveal that he is at a vulnerable time in his life. Kahlo shares a blood vessel with her other self and also holds her other hand. In doing so, she attempts to unite the separate sides of herself on both a physical and emotional level. The visual representation of this painting is realistic in appearance where it pays attention to the details of her face and clothing, unlike the hole in her chest where she shows her heart. The duality of her characters communicates that her husband's infidelity troubles her, so she maintains a stern exterior. This is how he is able to use his emotions as an outlet for his art. His solemn yet thoughtful face goes against the social norms of the time. Women were expected to remain in their husband's shadow, but Kahlo believed she was her own person. Being a feminist figure, she felt it was important to be transparent when it came to her emotions. She emotionally appeals to her core audience to stand up for themselves, especially other women who are struggling with broken relationships. Later, in 1940, Kahlo painted another self-portrait of herself wearing a thorn necklace with a hummingbird pendant. It is turned towards the viewer's gaze in this workof art. Her bold pout and eyebrows awaken the viewer's attention as she guides the viewer's eyes to her cleavage, where a necklace of thorns is wrapped around her with a hummingbird pendant. It sits in the middle of a dense jungle filled with various creatures. The colors of the jungle are bright green and yellow in the background, but everything in the foreground has duller colors. On one shoulder there is a monkey that pulls the necklace of thorns making it bleed; meanwhile, a black panther peers over the other shoulder. Two butterfly clips secure her hair, which resemble the infinity symbol. Above his head are two dragonflies with flowers as heads, flying around. Especially in this work of art, Kahlo immerses herself in nature. His hummingbird pendant goes against his typical symbolism, where they are usually full of life and freedom. In contrast, this portrait depicts the lifeless hummingbird. Additionally, in Mexican culture, hummingbirds represent good luck. This is contrary to the black panther, or black cat, peering over his shoulder. The monkey, in Mexican culture, represents lust, but in this piece Kahlo depicted the monkey as a protective symbol. She once received a monkey from her husband, Rivera. Perhaps the monkey was symbolic of him because this artwork was painted after his first divorce with Rivera. The monkey makes it bleed by pulling the thorns; in other words, there were still wounds after the divorce with Rivera. This symbolic use of pathos allows the audience to know that his physical and emotional match. The thorns around the neck could allude to the thorns of Jesus Christ around his head and the pain he endured until his crucifixion. As the eye naturally looks upwards, one can observe how her hair is shaped like an infinity symbol where the butterfly clips rest. Additionally, butterflies typically symbolize a new birth or resurrection, which juxtaposes the meaning of the thorns around her cleavage. Above her brown hair are dragonflies. They are positioned to represent a shift in self-realization. But to go deeper, both dragonflies have flower heads. This weaves the flora and fauna together; representing fertility. There is meaning that can be gained through the two butterfly hair clips in her hair and the two dragonflies above her head. Dragonflies are alive, but butterflies are simply clips. This piece is rich in symbolic contrasts and appeals to nature than most of his other pieces. After the divorce, he also painted another self-portrait with cropped hair called "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair". She is seen dressed in a dress sitting on a bright yellow chair with her brown curls in her lap along with a pair of scissors. At the top of the portrait is a popular Mexican text that is translated into English as “Look, if I loved you it was because of your hair. Now that you have no hair, I don't love you anymore. “This art depicts that Kahlo is independent of Rivera's love. This is symbolized by her hair, as hair is typically a symbol of beauty and youth. In this case, it is evident that she cuts her own hair because she holds shears in her hand. Her hair is scattered on the floor, while some remains in her lap. She refuses to adhere to traditional gender norms by cutting her hair and wearing a male dress. Her main audience is Rivera, because she impresses him by using popular lyrics in the top of the painting. Her secondary audience is society at large. The colors are more muted and masculine in this piece. In Kahlo's personal diary she writes that the color yellow represents madness and mystery.