The call to artists by Art.com will soon be out for artists wishing to be curated into the "Homage to Frida Kahlo" exhibition being hosted by them. There will be a substantial cash award and there is no entry fee.
I have been chosen to curate this exhibit due to my well-known interest in all things Kahlo.
It started in 1975, when I visited Mexico City and discovered the works of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Almost immediately, I developed an artistic obsession with Kahlo's image and I have created hundreds of works on that subject, including dozens of art school assignments at the University of Washington School of Art (1977-1981).
In 1975 my parents took their first vacation ever, at least in my memory. As Cuban exiles, the American tradition of yearly vacations was as removed from their routine as the Cuban tradition of Noche Buena is from American Christmas holiday customs.
Anyway, they decided to go to Mexico City for a week with another couple from New York, which is where my folks had been living since leaving Cuba as political refugees in the 60s.
In 1975 I was finishing my first year in the US Navy, where I had enlisted right after High School, and stationed aboard USS Saratoga, homeported in Mayport, Florida. I had turned down a New York State Regents Scholarship and a Boston University art scholarship to satisfy my desire to see the world before I went to college.
Mexico City and its nightlife and food (and how far a dollar went) made such an impression upon my parents and their friends, that the one-week trip became two, and eventually they spent nearly a month in that huge, dirty city, enjoying the food, scenery, clubs and markets. They also asked me if I'd like to join them for a few days, and since they were paying for it, I took a few days leave and flew to Mexico City for about five days of my own, unexpected vacation.
Article comments
1 - myra mannering
i am definately interested in a frida tribute exhibition please keep me posted as i am working on something 'frida' as i type. how exciting.
please do not display my email address. i do not have a web site so have no url.
2 - Cerulean
I love Frida Kahlo's sense of color and drama in her own clothing. I am kind of like that too. I haven't done any art as a tribute to her, though although I am also an artist. Sounds like an exciting project and I wish you well with it. My art is about my life and I've had some similarities to her, but my art is not about her.