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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
So as a lover of Frida I really valued the high quality images of her intimate diary. At times I disagreed with the commentary and insight of her work. images that were marked horrifying I found beautiful. And who are we to speculate on someone’s private moments up until their death? A removal of several diary pages reminds us of this. You also see, through her subject matter, script/penmanship and frequency, her decline in her diary.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Not a 'diary' in the traditional sense, but thoughts, impressions, poetry, paintings, and drawings. Hermosa.
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
An art filled journal of reflective thought provoking reflections
At times I felt guilty of voyeurism by gaining such an intimate look into Frida's life. I don't know that she would support its publication were she alive.
Parts of the commentary I didn't read because they were dry and provided more insight into her art than her life, which is why I mainly chose to read Frida's own text. The evolution of her drawings and paintings throughout the book were fascinating to take in. Not only was her illness deeply reflected in her work, but her coping and ultimately overcoming as well.
"Feet what do I need them for
If I have wings to fly"
Parts of the commentary I didn't read because they were dry and provided more insight into her art than her life, which is why I mainly chose to read Frida's own text. The evolution of her drawings and paintings throughout the book were fascinating to take in. Not only was her illness deeply reflected in her work, but her coping and ultimately overcoming as well.
"Feet what do I need them for
If I have wings to fly"
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
If you're about to read this expecting a traditional 'what I did today' -diary, you're in for a big surprise. Then again, if you already know Frida Kahlo you wouldn't really expect that, would you? Originally not intended to be published, through Kahlo's diary you get inside her head in the form of letters, notes, automatic writing and sketches. So much so, that you feel a bit rude for invading her thoughts. I don't claim to understand automatic writing, and even though Frida isn't a Surrealist, she occasionally seems to be using the same technique in her writings. I'm so far only visually into Surrealism, so for me those passages were the most difficult and confusing.
But in the whole, is the diary really meant to be understood by someone other than her? Frida's writings and pictures together create a beautiful chaos, that helps you get a little bit closer to her art. Even you didn't understand everything, you can still feel the emotions that Frida went through when her health slowly deteriorated, and the love she had for Diego and pre-Columbian symbolism and culture. If you already admire Frida's art, this is a must read and a real gem of a companion piece to her paintings.
I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.
The book itself had a little problematic layout, because the explanations and translations are all stuffed into the back of the book, forcing you to flip through the pages. The Finnish translation also had quite a bit of problems in terms of spelling. Not a huge thing, but stuff like that always sticks out when it's repeated a few times.
But in the whole, is the diary really meant to be understood by someone other than her? Frida's writings and pictures together create a beautiful chaos, that helps you get a little bit closer to her art. Even you didn't understand everything, you can still feel the emotions that Frida went through when her health slowly deteriorated, and the love she had for Diego and pre-Columbian symbolism and culture. If you already admire Frida's art, this is a must read and a real gem of a companion piece to her paintings.
I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.
The book itself had a little problematic layout, because the explanations and translations are all stuffed into the back of the book, forcing you to flip through the pages. The Finnish translation also had quite a bit of problems in terms of spelling. Not a huge thing, but stuff like that always sticks out when it's repeated a few times.
It's impossible, really to rate something that wasn't written to be read by anyone so this is for the book itself. I guess the idea was to reproduce the diary as it was and give you the feeling of seeing the original. Only problem is that unless you read Spanish you don't understand it anyway, so you have to go to the back and keep flipping back and forth between the translation and the commentary which interrupts the flow much more than it would to have a larger size page with the translation right there. And it's also not really a diary in the sense one usually thinks of a diary, it's more sketches and poems. As these reflect the last years of her life they are pretty poignant and sad--the cumulative effect was kind of depressing for me.
I'm sorry Ms. Kahlo, I thumbed through your diary.
Four stars because I havent decided on the morality of it.
Very interesting! All the pages were beautifully restored and I literally felt like I had stolen it from her bedroom. The translations in English were very helpful.
Again, I am still deciding on my morality. Every entertainer deserves a little privacy...
Four stars because I havent decided on the morality of it.
Very interesting! All the pages were beautifully restored and I literally felt like I had stolen it from her bedroom. The translations in English were very helpful.
Again, I am still deciding on my morality. Every entertainer deserves a little privacy...