Frida Kahlo is a very famous Mexican female artist. That’s why I choose her art work “My Grandparents, My Parents, and I (Family Tree) from my visit to the Museum of Modern Art. In this picture you can see more than just her family tree. She paints the left side with mountains and a desert, representing her mother’s Mexican origin. On the right she paints the ocean representing her father’s German-Jewsish origin. All tied up with a drawing of her as a child and what I would assume is the home she grew up in.
In the poems we read this week, like “Afro-Latina”, “Chicanismo”, and “Legal Alien”, we heard and read the struggles of being from two different cultures. The artist’s feeling like they had to be ashamed of being Latino that they would become Americanized. Or just felt like they didn’t fit in with one or the other. So in Frida Kahlo’s art work we can see that she is proud of her roots. That she shows that she can be from two different cultures. That we don’t have to be embarrassed to show where we come from. But on the contrary be proud that we know why we look a certain way or where we come from. I learned while viewing this painting that she painted it after Adolf Hitler passed the Nuremberg laws. Which prohibited interracial marriage. So by her painting her family she is showing that she is proud of the decision her ancestors did of defying the law so she could be born and continue her family’s culture.
So in conclusion I feel like instead of feeling like I do not belong with one set culture I should be proud of who I am, just like Frida and Elizabeth from ¨Afro-Latina¨- ¨asta la muerte¨, till death.
American Literature 1865-Present 
Isn’t Frida Kahlo’s paintings just breathtaking? The correlation you made between her painting “My Grandparents, My Parents, and I (Family Tree)” and our online class is unbeatable. Great job! I always assumed Frida Kahlo was just Mexican and not any other race. I need to keep in mind that looks define appearance, not race and stop being part of the many people in this world that automatically judges someone by the color of their skin. When you informed me of Frida’s father coming from a German-Jewish origin and that her painting was made when Hitler passed laws, forbidding interracial marriage I was amazed. Partially because your art work coincided with the Holocaust (Which is what I blogged about). The question I have is: Why would someone want to keep two or different cultures from colliding? It creates diversity. How dull would this world be if we all looked the same and only stayed within our race? A little diversity doesn’t hurt nobody.
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I enjoyed reading your blog and the story behind this paining. I think you drew some great connections between our readings and this painting. I also enjoyed how you observed and explained small details like “She paints the left side with mountains and a desert, representing her mother’s Mexican origin.” Like you, I can completely relate to this painting because I also come from a different origin. It’s impossible not to feel belonged in a set culture. However, I agree with you when you say “I should be proud of who I am, just like Frida and Elizabeth”. Good job!
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this is really good! i like the fact that she shared in her artwork where she came from and that she is proud. because we all come from a chain of somewhere and it is good to know. and it is a shame that some people look down on intercultural marriages. we love who we love and others opinions do not matter and in the and they make the world a beautiful place. no one should ever feel ashamed of what they are or where they come from because people like you is what makes america great. o think we should all appreciate our heritage.
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The connections you make from Frida Kahlo’s artwork “My Grandparents, My Parents, and I” and the class readings are very clear. You made it easy for me to understand the message that Frida’s artwork has. Two different origins or cultures as you mention coming together. In the poems they talk about the struggles of having different cultures, how it affects people when interacting with others. All these differences should be set aside, there should not be any problems for people that have mixed cultures. I personally have different cultures and I feel proud about that just like Frida and Elizabeth from “Afro-Latina”.
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I really like how you found similar connections to the painting and the reading’s we did. This paiting is absolutely amazing. I think people who come from two different orgins shouldn’t feel so pressured to identify with one or the other. You should identify as both and feel proud of your roots. Our country has become a split difference when it comes to cultures. If you are not “full blood” of one orgin or another then you are not considered “pure”, This painting show’s a person who is proud of where she came from and want’s to honor both sides of her blood. I happen to feel though that it is not neccessarily the blood you have in you from your family that makes you, YOU. I feel that each person can identify how they choose and it’s the person themself that makes them what they are. You are responsible for continuing on your blood line. I think this picture does a great job of defining what bringing two cultures together means.
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The painting you chose is a vivid representation of two cultures becoming one. I love your enthusiasm for encouraging others to appreciate their cultures. Each of us is unique but the fact that we can embrace our heritage and culture is astounding. It’s important for us all to love each ourselves for who we are and not for what others want us to be. Once we learn to appreciate the diversity in our society the better off the world will be. I hope people will stop seeing color and begin to see people with love and kindness.
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This painting is awesome. As others have pointed out I did not know she was mixed. The painting does a great job of telling a story with the most simplicity. Even though I am not bi-racial, I am bi-cultural. Like you said, why make ourselves feel like we need to belong to one or the other race or culture. We can be proud of both. Learn from both and take the positives from each side. Being from more than one race or more than one cultures opens your eyes to new things. Helps you grow as an individual to understand the oneness of human beings and we can help others learn from our experiences.
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I saw that her exhibit came to the Dallas Museum of Art and was sincerely disappointed that I was unable to view it in person. I believe that her paintings tell a story of Mexican culture that symbolizes two cultures coming together as one. I believe that in a away it represents how cultures should be accepting of each other. I believe that it is important that while we all may represent a different up bringing, we understand that no culture is better than the other. We must grow to accept each other regardless of background in able to grow and change the world. I believe that this is what Frida Kahlo was trying to interpret in alot of her paintings. Nobody should be afraid to identify with their culture no matter what it is.
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