Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) became a household name in the 1990s because of her ability to fold her own experiences into her work. She was born in Mexico in 1907, but often claimed she was born in 1920, the same year as the Mexican Revolution. This is one of many myths that surround her life.

By the 1920s, Kahlo and met and become intimate with Diego Rivera, one of the most important Mexican artists of the time. Rivera already had a booming career, and he often traveled abroad for commissions of his extensive and political murals. During their time
in Mexico and abroad, both Kahlo and Rivera befriended important political, intellectual, and artistic figures such as Leon Trotsky, Edward Weston, Tina Modotti, Jose Clemente Orozco, Imogen Cunningham, Lola and Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Nickolas Muray, among others. This exhibition brings together images of Kahlo and Rivera interacting with these important individuals—serving as a kind of portrait of several movements in 20th century art and political history. These images tell a wonderful story of a young woman who made her art an expression of her experience, and in doing so, made connections with other influential figures of her time. These images convey a sense of intimacy, vulnerability, risk, reward, and conviction.

Paired with the Kahlo project, FMoPA has organized an exhibition exploring the links between Photography and Surrealism. Surrealism was one of the most important and influential artistic movements of the twentieth century. Started in Paris, by poet Andre Breton, it grew out of an earlier movement called Dada and focused on exposing the hidden thoughts and desires of an individual’s mind. The movement was also closely associated with automatism, which espoused letting the mind work freely to express all meanings and memories, separate from social indoctrination. Exposing the Self: Surrealism and Photography brings together photographers who are interested in showing the intricacies of the mind. For example, Len Prince’s black and white images of individuals and items demonstrate the various meanings we attach to ubiquitous items such as flowers, mirrors, and masks. Sally Mann’s romantic yet troubling landscape shows how specific settings create associations with alternative realities and situations. Laurie Simmons creates images that incorporate children’s play and food to prove to the viewer that all people encounter objects with associate meanings. Suzanne Camp Crosby uses overlays images that relate to both past and present life: creating compositions within compositions with layers of intrigue. Photographer Wendy Babcox utilizes various methods of manipulation examine an individual’s relationship to both memory and fantasy. Other works include Paul Laster, Cindy Sherman, and Laurie Simmons, Jerry Uelsmann, among others.

Florida Museum of Photographic Arts
400 North Ashley Drive
Cube 200
Tampa, Fl 33602

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