Women’s History month is perfectly timed with the outstanding launch of the Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving exhibit at the Brooklyn art Museum. It is up from Feb 8-May 12, 2019 Timed tickets restrict the amount of viewers and allow you to really read and get up close with the objects and collection. What makes this curation different and interesting is that the focus is not on her paintings. It is about Frida, and her life and struggles, is very much a step inside her everyday.
I really enjoyed learning more about her and seeing the items of clothing as well as the braces she wore which inspired why she dressed in the manner she did.
The exhibit is made up of family photos that I had never seen. It then takes you through her having Polio at 6 how that made her have one shorter thinner leg and how that influenced her to wear those long skirts to disguise her leg to strangers. You can also see ornate red boots that have a lift on that side so she would not walk with a limp.
What are the most amazing and disrupting objects to see are the plaster corsets set wore. When Frida was 18 she was in that trolley accident and it injured her abdomen and affected her back. She went on to endure 32 surgeries-and wear these plaster casts to keep her supported. A true creative she took to painting and decorating them. There are a few on display.
These casts are the reason why Frida took to wearing these boxy Mexican style shirts and skirts. Known as the Tehuana clothing. She tried her best to show her spirit in color and embroidery but also for the practical nature, which was something I did not realize until I saw the corsets.
Check out the show. It is smaller but it gives you a personal look at Frida and not just the commercial painter married to Deigo.
