Frida Khalo's The Borken Column

    Frida Khalo did not move me, or at least that was my initial reaction to her work. First, in order to explain me reaction to her artwork, let me say I was never into art that was meant to be symbolic. I never felt as though it were addressed to me. I always wondered if the lack of straight forward design to much of modern art was done from a lack of talent or from a high-brow standpoint of someone who felt they were deep and sophisticated. The strange imagery all meant to stand for something else that I would have to interpret was all, frankly, stupid to me. Then once I started looking at Frida’s paintings and upon learning some of her background it all came together.

    Frida’s paintings were all leading back to the same place, they all describe different past or ongoing episodes of her life. The self portraits spoke to her life and experiences while the backgrounds were a double-entendres for what was happening to her at the time. That was when she began to earn some of my respect. I have always felt that people often much more influential people than myself have determined what was good or not in terms of art. Many times what was considered good art was nothing to me, it didn’t even contain entertainment value for me. Then when I began to think about Frida’s paintings a began to see all of the talent required to make all of the connections she was making. How she painted her life through her unique vision of the world such a small cross section of human existence, the life of a Mexican woman, made sense to me a Puerto Rican American male who never suffered any bus accidents or any of the tragedies she suffered in her life, yet I understood exactly what she was saying. That brings me to the painting that I enjoyed most Frida’s “The Broken Column.”

            The painting “The Broken Column” spoke to me with its message. In this painting Frida is painted wearing the apparatus that she wore to keep herself erect after one of her surgeries. I think that her wearing the white back brace in the painting is her way of showing the way she is now forced to live her day-to-day life. That without the help of the brake the column that is her spine cannot be held together. The column is fractured and destroyed which could be a representation of the multiple operations Frida had one her spine to help her walk. The column could also be a representation of her life, which is being held together from falling apart by the brace.

            The background of the painting is a representation of the dry barren landscape that was Frida’s life. The land is deeply cracked and destroyed with deep craters. The dry land that cant support life could also be a representation of Frida’s inability to bare children as a result of her injury, “the broken column.” Deep in the distance in the painting is a blue sky and some green vegetation meaning that deep in Frida’s past was full of good times. The growth in the earth behind the barren wasteland is Frida’s past hope of having children. Then there is the imagery of the nails all over Frida’s body, which could be a representation of the constant pain all over her body. The covering of the pelvic area with the white cloth is a representation of the loss of the ability to reproduce because the womb is covered.

            Frida’s face in the painting also is very telling her condition. Her hair is disheveled meaning she is deeply sad and not in control of herself. The exaggeration of her face is also a showing of her lack of control and pain in her life. Frida’s very pronounced eyebrows, and the much darker than normal hair above her mouth, is Frida making herself “ugly” to show the unhappiness in her life. The tears are clear symbols of pain and sadness. All of the symbolism of this painting is a declaration of her unhappiness and inability to change from what she is.

            This painting spoke to me because it was so clear. The talent was so clearly apparent nothing representing what it truly is only symbolizing some aspect of Frida’s life. The dark coloring at the forefront of the painting showing her current life and the light vibrant colors in the background representing the promise that filled Frida’s past. All of these things made me choose this painting. It was deep and caused me to think and understand her struggle. The painting is uncomfortable to look t so beautifully done that you want to look but upon noticing the disturbing imagery making you want to look away. It was an awesome job done by a clearly talented person. 

A Good Life......

What do I call a good life?

How can I live a good life?

How can I create the conditions in my life so that I can live a good life?

What is it in contemporary society or culture that helps me live a good life?

What in society today that makes it hard to live a good life?

What principles do I hold about the good life, or what standards do I use to judge whether or not someone is living a good life?    

What I call a good life has and I suppose always be subjective to the period of my life that I am in. When I was 16, a good life consisted of different priorities for me than it does now. At 16 my definition of a good life was having the biggest most expensive jewelry, the “fanciest” flashiest clothes, and the prettiest girls, all while having so much respect from my peers that no one would dare to ever try and take any of these things from me. So I guess back then it could be said that a good life to me was having prestige, I wanted to be looked up to.  I was competitive; I wanted to be the best always and at everything. In a way, it could be said that this is the foundation of what I still consider a good life. However, as I got older and my priorities changed.

       Now at 27 years old my definition of a good life now has grown to include my family and my career. I still am very competitive so to me a good life would include a career that was intellectually stimulating career that is fulfilling monetarily as well as spiritually. I would need the financial means to retire my mother and afford my future children the best education and living circumstances. A good life would include my wife working not because she has to in order for us to make ends meet but rather because she loves what she does for a living. I would want my family and close friends to want for nothing. This is all closely rather to the amount of wealth it would require to provide this lifestyle to my loved ones.

       A good life however, to me also needs to include emotional fulfillment which I currently feel that I have. Sometimes I fear that the pursuit of the material wealth I will somehow change and lose my loved ones. That being said, if gaining material wealth means losing the emotional support of my wife, family or friends I would gladly remain in my current financial circumstances forever. I am genuinely happy in life and I feel as though I am missing nothing the material wealth I pursue is for the sole purpose of the prestige it brings and the lifestyle it affords me, but my priorities are in order my loved ones come first before the pursuit of fortune and admiration.

       I can live a good life by providing my family with the best. I can live a good life by planning for unexpected delays and by adapting my definition of a good life as my circumstances change. I can also achieve a good life by maintaining my support system of family and friends how have helped me achieve the level of success I currently have.

        Contemporary society provides me with a number of conveniences that help me a great deal in living a good life. The Internet and social networking allow for me to remain in contact with people whom I would have otherwise never spoken to again. The Internet also provides me with countless information on any subject that I would have otherwise taken a great deal of time to get. The culture of society helps me towards a good life because much of it is geared towards providing the opportunity to become a success in terms of education and values.

         As in any situation there is the opposite side of the coin there are things in society that makes it difficult to live a good life. In society there is underlying racism and preconceived notions of who I am based on being a Latino male from a low-income neighborhood. That in and of itself makes it difficult to achieve any type of significant success or wealth in pursuit of a good life. Coming from a low-income family I also am put at a disadvantage. Low income neighborhood are plagued by the worse schools with classrooms with only two students in a classroom of 30-something students, the gifted student and the problem child with all other students lost in the shuffle. Growing up with without money leaves you with twisted priorities of what's important and many give themselves into a life of crime. When you grow up in a disadvantaged atmosphere you have to learn quickly that you have to fight, run, and claw for the basics that are a given for those in a higher tax bracket. 

         There are several standards that I use to judge if someone is living a good life. One standard is at the most basic is if the person is happy and fulfilled with their lives. Secondly, I most definitely think that the amount of work they put into improving the lives of others on any scale is also a good determination of a good life. At some point you don't need any extra and all that is left is the opportunity to help others succeed or provide them with the opportunity to do so. A good life has to include making others happy and therefore becoming a good person. That is the standard by which I would ultimately judge a good life.