Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself [Hardcover]

Salomon Grimberg (Author), Hayden (FWS) Herrera (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2008

Frida Kahlo's extraordinary life has been well documented, but until now little has been known about the artist's thoughts on her internal and external reality. In "Song of Herself", Kahlo expert and child psychiatrist Salomon Grimberg introduces and contextualizes an intimate, deeply introspective interview that Kahlo gave towards the end of her life to her friend the psychologist Olga Campos for an unpublished book on the creative process. Kahlo comments directly and starkly as never before on her life, her loves and her art, and expresses her attitudes towards sexuality, her body, friendship, politics and death, among other personal concerns.The most revealing autobiographical text known on this singular woman, this startling interview is accompanied here by Campos' reflections on her relationship with Kahlo and a psychological assessment of Kahlo by Dr James Bridger Harris. The book is illustrated with selected photographs and works by Kahlo, including previously unseen and rarely seen drawings.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grimberg, a psychiatrist and art historian, has authored and edited several books and exhibition catalogs on the poignant life and works of Frida Kahlo. In these two recent books, Grimberg focuses both on Kahlo's creative process and on how her works, self-portraits and still lifes, complement each other and serve as windows to consider the artist and her other paintings. Song of Herself centers on a series of interviews between Kahlo and Olga Campos, a psychologist and Kahlo's friend; Kahlo's words have been grouped together to present her revealing musings on a variety of subjects, such as children, sexuality, politics, and her own body. Following the interviews are two brief sections, one that details the artist's medical history and the other, an assessment of the artist by a modern-day psychologist. In the landmark book Still Lifes, Grimberg critically examines each of Kahlo's documented still lifes (all 40 that are known are reproduced here), showing how they complement the self-portraits and reflect the character of the artist just as well. In addition to color reproductions of Kahlo's striking art, these two titles include black-and-white photographs of the artist. Offering original perspectives on Kahlo's life, art, and mind, Grimberg's books are recommended for academic and special libraries with art history, psychology, or gender studies collections.—Jennifer Pollock, Yale Ctr. for British Art, New Haven, CT
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Review

Different to anything printed on Kahlo before ... movingly, we get to hear (with visual cues) how such a forthright, complex woman emerges from the tomboy everyone considered 'a little strange' - DAZED AND CONFUSED

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Merrell (April 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858944384
• ISBN-13: 978-1858944388
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,404,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interview with Frida Kahlo is the basis for a multifaceted view of her, May 8, 2008

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself (Hardcover)

The core of the book is a series of interviews an Olga Campos had with Kahlo when Campos was a student. In the book, it is more like a monologue than a typical interview format. There's no question-and-response: Kahlo's words on a variety of subjects have been grouped together. Among the subjects are Children, Animals, Social Conscience, and My Body. As expected, the Mexican artist's words on each subject are vivid, direct, revealing, honest, and personal--like her paintings.

There's also considerable ancillary material, though it does not overshadow the interview. Sections by Grimberg named as the author, a psychoanalytic art historian, are the Introduction and following essay "With the Image in the Mirror" with material and commentary on Fahlo's life, personality, and art. Campos contributes the memoir "My Memory of Frida" preceding the rearrangement of the content of her interviews. After the lengthy part in Khalo's own words are sections on the artist's medical history and a psychological assessment of her. The variety of material--vintage and later, subjective and objective, medical and critical--presents a complex picture fitting for this most complex and fragile of artists.

This work is a companion to the recently-published Frida Khalo - The Still Lifes from the same publisher also authored by Grimberg. Together the two books offer a fresh look at Kahlo in light of material which is new or has been neglected.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kahlo's Personal Thoughts Revealed, April 23, 2009

By 

M. Brooks "Frida Kahlo - Amrita Sher-Gil Fan" (Sacramento, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself (Hardcover)

Frida Kahlo's extraordinary life has been well documented, but until now little has been known about the artist's personal thoughts on her internal and external reality. In this book, Kahlo expert Salomon Grimberg introduces and contextualizes an intimate, deeply introspective interview that Kahlo gave towards the end of her life to her friend the psychologist Olga Campos. Kahlo comments candidly as never before on her life, her loves and her art, and expresses her attitudes towards sexuality, her body, friendship, politics and death, among other personal concerns. The most revealing autobiographical text known on this singular woman, this startling interview is accompanied here by Campos's reflections on her relationship with Kahlo and a psychological assessment of Kahlo by Dr James Bridger Harris.

The book is illustrated with selected vintage photographs and works by Kahlo, including previously unseen and rarely seen drawings. This book is NOT a Kahlo biography or discussion of her works.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding presentation essential for any folk art library, September 4, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself (Hardcover)

The Mexican folk artist Frida Kahlo's life is well known yet she remains an enigma: here psychiatrist and Kahlo expert Salomon Grimberg introduces an interview she gave towards the end of her life to her psychologist friend Olga Campos - an interview which was never published, yet lends great insights into Kahlo's life. Campos's reflections on their relationship accompanies this unpublished survey and makes for an outstanding presentation essential for any folk art library or Kahlo collection.