After Frida

For those who love Latin American art, and I mean really love Latin American art, After Frida by Arthur Lubow is a must-read. While I usually pretty much ignore the Main Stream Media (Gray Lady included), this piece really caught my eye.

Even though I don't wholly agree with Mari Carmen Ramirez, I do agree that Latin American art deserves more respect, that it needs to move beyond Diego and Frida (Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo), and that greater scholarship is needed in this area. The plans detailed in the article are exciting to say the least. There is a lot of great art coming from Latin America, and we in the United States haven't been exposed to it.

Unfortunately, I think the likes of Ms. Ramirez have an uphill battle against Frida and Diego. The story of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo has everything - political intrigue, sex, and tragedy. It is simply difficult to come up with more compelling artists, even if Frida's actual painting was mediocre at best.

My only regret with regards to this entire subject is that I didn't take the time to actually see the exhibit mentioned in the article (the Houston exhibit). I lived in Houston when it debuted during the summer of 2004. I can't wait for the online projects to become available though.

Lindsey