Frida Kahlo: Expressing Identity, Heritage & Struggles Through Art - Essay Sample

Introduction

Frida Kahlo interests me because she used her painful experiences, one of them being the bus accident she experienced at the age of 18 through art to express her identity and heritage and to speak to her fellow countrymen on various issues importance through art. She also used her art to air her concerns and opinions on the multiple events in her country, especially in matters about her country’s struggle for cultural independence. Additionally, Frida's art interests me because her art is a more profound expression of consciousness to self and public beliefs.

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Self-Portrait With Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Materials: Oil paint

Meaning: In the Mexican culture, the hummingbird is a symbolizes of hope and good luck. As such, its use in Frida’s work was a hinting that she was hopeful for a new start and was optimistic for good luck moving forward. Additionally, the use of butterflies in this art is a further reaffirmation that Frida had undergone a resurrection face and was a new person. Butterflies are often a symbol of resurrection, and the use of them in this art was intentional. The black cat on her shoulder is a symbol of her internal hurt and pain, which she had been carrying on her shoulders. Part 2: Short Essays

Describe how and why art and artists have been considered to have exceptional power in some cultures.

In some cultures, art and artists are considered to have exceptional powers that are useful in various aspects. Historically, artists were believed to have special powers because they could conceptualize their imaginations of shapes and forms and bring them to being. The shapes and forms created to being had a striking resemblance to living creatures, yet they had only been created out of dust and stones, among other materials. Because of their ability to create things that looked like living creatures, artists were believed to have the ability to have exceptional powers to transform and give life (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).

The art created by the artists was also considered to have exceptional powers because the art acted as a means of communication between humans and the unseen world in some cultures. Moreover, the art created could influence the actions, behaviors, and well-being of the living; therefore, such arts were considered supernatural powers and were not just ordinary. In the ancient Romans, for instance, arts were described as 'genius' which meant to bring into being. The artists were also viewed as geniuses, who were highly regarded and set apart from other ordinary persons who were non-genius (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).

In some other cultures, art and artists play a critical role in influencing the society through remodifying and changing people’s opinions on politics and religion among other issues arising in the society (Petru, 2016). Art and artists also have the potential to instill essential values to the members of the society and to translate past historical experiences in different places and times to the present, which can otherwise not be accurately translated by other historical records.

Why is it essential that news photographs not be altered

News photographs are critical and act as proof that an event occurred and that the news is not fake. News photographs also take the readers or viewers remotely into the actual scene of the event, thereby giving them a better understanding of the situation. Moreover, photos can spike emotions to the readers more effectively than just reading the articles, and as such, altering the photographs could significantly alter the intended purposes of the whole article (Newton, 2013).

News photographs should not be altered because altered news photographs are tantamount to vanished trust for both the photojournalist and the media house in general (Newton, 2013). For instance, if it is discovered that a media house alters their news photographs to omit certain aspects of the articles for personal reasons, then the credibility of that media house would be gone. This is so because altered news photographs equal altered message, which translates to altered views and opinions of the readers regarding the subject matter. Because news photographs can inspire, incite and spark debates among the readers, it implies that people can maliciously alter the news photographs for the wrong reasons such as inciting anger and action (Newton, 2013).

In the political space, for instance, photojournalists have been used as a tool by political enemies to discredit or create controversy about some politicians. A news photograph captures pleasant moments that would add more credit to a politician. Still, the same news photograph can be altered to depict an unpleasant moment that can significantly discredit the said politician.

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Creativity and genius: A systems perspective. The Systems Model of Creativity (pp. 99-125). Springer, Dordrecht. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-9085-7_8

Newton, J. (2013). The burden of visual truth: The role of photojournalism in mediating reality. Routledge. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=z3JqJFO5qMUC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=news+photographs+should+not+be+altered&ots=F7gG8BPKpS&sig=aGBD89mUEv2pD7gDfKjvm9Q7WmE

Petru, L. (2016). Artists as Cultural Workers for Social Change. Romanian Review of Social Sciences (10). http://rrss.univnt.ro/download/420_rrss_june2016_67-71.pdf