Customer Reviews

Frida Kahlo: The Camera Seduced

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
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This book contains 60 B&W photographs of the legendary Frida Kahlo taken by some of the most famous photographers of the time: Ansel Adams, Lucienne Bloch, Lola & Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Imogen Cummingham, Frida's father Guillermo Kahlo, Nickolas Muray and others. The photos range from early childhood to her last days. A few of the photos I had not seen before but most of the photos in this book can be found in other more recent books on Kahlo. Although many beautiful color photographs of Frida were taken beginning in the late 1930s, none of them appear in this book....everything is in B&W.

In the beginning pages of the book, Elena Poniatowska writes Frida's memoirs as though she were Frida. At the end of the book, Carla Stellweg writes an essay covering the high points of Kahlo's life and her turbulent marriage to the famous Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera. In the back of the book there is a detailed chronology as well as a description of each photograph. The focus of this book is on the photographs. Although there are a few photos of Kahlo's paintings, not much is mentioned about her art.

The pictures are gorgeous and I liked Elena Ponitowskas essay in the book so much that I translated it into Swedish (my mother tongue), and now I'm illustrating it!

Frida Kahlo's art is largely self-portraits. Her first and best work of art was herself, and she worked hard on her public image. This is a record of her public life, in photos by photographers famous and unknown. She was a beautiful and exotic woman, as well as a major artist. Fans of her art won't want to miss this book, which is nicely produced. It's out of print, but readily and inexpensively available. The text is interesting, but the photos are the real meat. Highly recommended.

Happy reading -- and viewing,
Peter D. Tillman

ok, it's such a cliché, but frida kahlo herself is as fascinating as her art, and here are the pics to prove it. if it's out of pirnt, well, it's a good chance to take the trip to mexico and buy it, really worth it.