Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo, whose real name is Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon was a mexican painter who was born on the 6th of July 1907, Cayocoan, Mexico and died on the 13th of July, 1954. Kahlo was considered one of Mexico's greatest artists. She began to paint after she got into a tragic bus accident which left her with severe injuries. Later on in her life, she married a communist artist Diego Rivera in 1929. Her artwork was mainly displayed in Paris and Mexico before she died in 1958.

"The Little Deer" 1946

Frida Kahlo's artwork "The Little Deer" depicts a deer in the forest with Kahlo's own face used as the deer's. There are also nine arrows sticking out of the deer's back causing it to bleed. Behind the trees of the forest is a bright blue ocean where the painting appears to be set in daytime along with a thunderstorm. The painting seems to be hopeful as the deer leaps and the brightness of the blue ocean, but is then turned around by the arrows in the dear and the thunderstorm.

"The Broken Column" 1944

This artwork of Frida Kahlo's displays the misery that she has experienced throughout her life. She has painted nails pierced into her body, representing the pain she has been through. The column that looks as if it is holding her up and supporting her, has relevance to the horrific accident she was involved in at a young age. The straps around her body could be a metaphor for being trapped or held back.

Jean Michel Basquiat

Introduction: Jean-Michel Basquiat is a African-Puerto Rican NYC Neo-Expressionist painter who was born on the 22nd of December. He started off as a graffiti artist in NYC in the late `70s and later became an acclaimed Neo-expressionist and Primitivist painter by the 1980s. Basquiat died, at the age of 27, of a heroin overdose in his art studio in Great Jones Street in NYC's NoHo neighbourhood.

"Untitled Head-Skull" (1984)

"Untitled Skull" is a work of Basquiat's that features a human head that almost looks like a skull which is kept in place with numerous stitches. The head is shown broken at several places, the teeth, near the left eye, and towards the back of the skull. "Untitled Head-Skull" does not have a certain skin or bone tone colour. Instead, it consists of a variety of raw colours, as if it represents rot and decay. These features give it an appearance of 'Folk' or 'Tribal Art.' The most remarkable aspect of "Untitled Head-Skull," is the eyes, which are looking down towards the floor. The combination of sad eyes and broken teeth is more than likely a representation of a blend of gloom and fear.

"Untitled (Fallen Angel)" 1981

"Untitled Fallen Angel" is one of Basquiat's well known paintings that looks like some sort of evil angel. The facial expression is displaying pain or anguish hence the open red mouth and wide eyes. The body seems to be transparent making the insides very clear to see. This might represent a longing for people to see whats inside a person rather than the outer beauty.  The red, orange and yellow mixing of colours make the wings of the angel appear to have been set on fire. The whole combination of the transparent body, burning wings and painful facial expression can likely symbolise the feelings of pain and anger.