The Women of Mexican Surrealism

 Finding sanctuary in turbulent times.

For many, Mexico became a safe haven during World War II, with a Nazi Germany reigning and wreaking havoc on the lives of many Europeans. This knowledge is important because this final blog is dedicated to the art of women artists in Mexico. However, only one of them was born there. All the women covered are significant to the surrealist movement in Latin America during the mid-modern era. Mexico had surrealist artists already, but the form and movement grew when surrealists from other countries became inspired by the art popularized at the time. Overall, I see that this establishes a safe space for artists to continue expressing themselves without fear of harsh punishment.

    Three notable female artists in Mexico made surrealist art from 1930-1960, roughly at the same time as the mid-modern art movement. Surrealist art in Mexico followed the popular literary movement of French poet Andre Breton. The speaker in the video above, Anne Umland, mentions that Breton once described Kahlo's work as equivalent to the shock value of a ribbon wrapped around a bomb, to which I agree wholeheartedly.

The Broken Column (1940) Frida Kahlo

• Kahlo created this piece after having surgery on her spine
• Like many of her self-portraits, it was a way to express her emotions through jarring and painful imagery
• Nails embedded into her skin give a new meaning to "pins-and-needles" as an expression for a specific feeling of pain a person can experience
• Her center is carved out, giving a feeling of intense exposure and bareness
• The column in her center is cracked and caving in, seeming to crumble and topple over to either side
• The metal bracing straps wrapped around her body feel like the only structure holding her together
• Being naked and exposed in this manner gives the viewer a greater understanding of how vulnerable it feels to live in a world of intense pain
• Tears streaming down her hopeless expression add to the helplessness felt in the piece
• The land behind her reads as empty, jagged, and flat, increasing the focal point of how exposed she is and the discomfort she must feel

About This Piece:

Title: The Broken Column (1944)

Artist: Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907-1954)

Dimensions: 39.8 x 30.6 cm

Medium: Oil on masonite

Country of Origin: Mexico

The Giantess (The Guardian of the Egg) (1947) Leonora Carrington

• A coming-of-age piece produced by an artist with nothing short of a rebellious streak
• Carrington came from a very affluent family in Britain but fled home for Madrid and then to Mexico City in 1942, where she stayed until her passing in 2011
• The Giantess is a indeed giant, commanding the space of the image and drawing our eyes to her intricate details.
• Surrealism to Carrington spoke to her innate sense of rule-breaking, allowing her to provide an illustration of womanhood.
• Along the field in which she stands, hunters and wildlife are running about while the ships at sea float on the sea and melt into the scenery.
• The sky and the sea blend together in such a strange yet fluid manner
• The egg that the Giantess guards likely represents new life, while the halo surrounding the child-like cherub face reads as golden wheat, representing abundance
• The geese that fly about the giante4ss, emerging from her cloak, seem to be circling her
• The impish look on the giantess' face provides a notion that she knows what is happening and has full control of what is happening around her

About This Piece:

Title: The Giantess (The Guardian of the Egg) (1947)

Artist: Leonora Carrington (English, 1917-2011)

Dimensions: 120 x 69.2 cm

Medium: Tempera on wood

Country of Origin: Mexico

The Juggler (The Magician) (1956) Remedios Varo

• Varo and Carrington were good friends, having joined the same artists' guild for surrealism and other creative interests.
• The Magician in this piece is so undeniably peculiar, but as a viewer, I find it hard to look away from, much like the cloaked viewers inside the piece.
• The head of the magician is star-shaped, symbolizing balance and unity.
• The movement of the magician appears effortless, their body having an unnatural but magical glow and glitter to it.
• The crowd watches intently at the work of the magician, unable to break away.
• The cloaked figures indicate a shared lifestyle, perhaps even a cult, but they stand united as they watch the magician, looking on in wonder
• Even the buildings feel like they are drawing in close to witness the power of the magician.

About This Piece:

Title: The Juggler (The Magician) (1956)

Artist: Remedios Varo (Spanish, 1912-1970)

Dimensions: 91 x 122 cm

Medium: Oil and inlaid mother of pearl on board

Country of Origin: Mexico

These pieces spoke to me on many different levels. I found these pieces of art more relatable than any other piece of work I saw in this class. There is something so intense, yet special, in each of these pieces. When I look at the surrealist art done by these amazing women artists I don't feel so afraid or alone. I feel safe in my own skin, at home in my bones, or simply free to feel my emotions. The art in this movement was monumental in its ability to represent the thoughts and feelings felt by women, giving us a glimpse at what makes a woman tick. Frida Kahlo, especially, is noted as one of the most influential women in art to this day, having started a movement of sharing our struggles in breathtaking art.

Resources:

“The Broken Column.” Frida Kahlo, FridaKahlo.org, www.fridakahlo.org/the-broken-column.jsp. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.

Enger, Reed. “The Broken Column.” Obelisk Art History, 6 Nov. 2022, www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/frida-kahlo/the-broken-column/.

“Frida Kahlo Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/kahlo-frida/. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.

“The Giantess (The Guardian of the Egg).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giantess_(The_Guardian_of_the_Egg).

“HOW TO SEE | Surrealist Women Artists.” YouTube, The Museum of Modern Art, 21 Nov. 2020, youtu.be/1q4GNAQosy0.

“Leonora Carrington Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/carrington-leonora/. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.

“Remedios Varo, The Juggler (The Magician).” MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/291307. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.

“Surrealism.” MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/terms/surrealism. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.

Urton, Robin. “Surrealism.” Eyecon Art, robinurton.com/history/surrealism.htm. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.