Diego Rivera and Frida Essay

Submitted By Sunshine-Rascon
Words: 389
Pages: 2

The masterpiece that captivated me the most was Frida Kahlo’s 1933 painting “My Dress Hangs There”. She created this painting while in New York after living in America for approximately three years. The painting conveys her feelings of and towards the American society, which at the time contradicted the beliefs of her husband, Diego Rivera who was demonstrating his acceptance of the nation by painting murals at the rockerfella center. The murals where meant to be representations of high hopes for a new, bright, better future. This was the exact opposite of Frida’s perception of America. “mi vestido cuelga ahi” conveys a powerful message of disapproval an discontent towards the materialistic united states. Within the painting there are several representations of the various American industries at the time as well as symbols that exemplifies the superficiality of American society. Frida includes all of this in the midst of social, cultural, and religious destruction and decay. Total chaos is occurring throughout this artwork and Frida accurately highlights her theory on the loss of traditional values. Frida is able to display her disapproval of the nation by focusing on the obscene American wealth, as well as the strife of the lower class and painting her dress in the center of the pandemonium. Unlike all her other works of art where Frida paints herself as the focal point, she does not include herself in this painting. Setting it apart from the rest of her artwork only her dress is exhibited, hanging