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Artist Reference : Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (1907-1954)
Title of work : Memory the Heart - Recuerdo (Memory)
Year : 1937
Medium : Oil-on-metal work
Size : 40cm x 28cm
Location : In the collection of the Michel Petitjean in Paris, France
SEE
(Describe what you see)
THINK
(Analyse & Interpret)
WONDER
(Develop Curiosity)
What do you see?
I see that the woman in the picture has a heart on the land on the left and the ocean to the right. Both her hands are not on her, instead, it is on the 2 dresses that are hanging on her left and right. The dress on the left is of the colours of the ocean and sky where her right foot is stand at and the right dress is of the colours of land and her heart where her left foot is stand at. I see a wooden stick piercing through her chest.
What are the subject(s) in the Artwork?
Frida.
What are the Elements of Art used in the Artwork?
Colour, lines, shapes and texture.
What are some subjects in the foreground, middleground and background of the Artwork?
In the foreground, there is a separation of the land and ocean. The land has a heart that has blood trail after it.
In the middleground stands Frida and her 2 dresses on her left and right. One on hanging above the ocean and the other hanging above the land.
In the background, there are clouds. Clouds that are darkish grey.
How are the subject matters arranged?
Frida is in the middle while her 2 dresses are placed on her left and right each.
Why did you think the artist arranged the subjects in this manner?
I think Frida is arranged in the center to attract the viewer's attention. The dresses with 1 hand on the left and right are to tell the viewers about her dresses being part of her.
What do you think the Artist is trying to communicate in the artwork? How does the artwork make you feel?
I think the Artist is trying to convey that she spent all her life sewing clothes like a housewife stuck at home until her heart is taken out. The artwork makes me feel special as the 2 dresses have contrasting colours to the ground she is on.
How do you think the elements of art were used to convey the Artist's intentions?
The different elements of art allow us to understand the Artist's intentions better as different elements of art allow us to have different interpretation on the artwork.
How was principles of design used to communicate an idea/ emotion?
The contrast of the dresses with the ground helps to communicate the idea of similarity.
Why do you think the Artist emphasised certain element in the work?
To let the certain element in the work stand out so that viewer's attention/focus is on that certain emphasis.
What are you curious about the Artwork?
Why is the dress on the right bigger and closer compared to the dress on the left?
What are your wonders about the Artist's thought processes?
Why did she choose to portray her transformation of a child to woman in this manner? (2 dresses linked to her by arms)
What is interesting to you about this Artwork? And why?
I really like the contrast and the texture of the artwork.
Are there any areas such as the title, style, or medium of the artwork that you are unsure and would like to know more?
Why is it called "Memory the heart"?
What do you like to keep, destroy or replace? Why?
I would like to move the dress on the left closer to the front to make both dresses link arm with Frida but a problem is that the heart would need to shift somewhere else which I think can be placed covering the hole that the stick went through.
MY WORKS IN PROGRESS
Doubled-Faced Self-Portrait
(I tried to make the right side of the face like what you would see when you look at the right but it looks a little like what you would see at the front of the face instead 😓)
Contour Outline Of Self-Portrait
(I think I could've add a bit more of the shadows)
Carbon Copy Of Contour Outline
(This wasn't that greatly done as I think I have put too much force onto the pen when I was tracing out the carbon copy, so when I let go of my hand and turn the paper, without realising, some of the lines overlapped 😭)
Positive & Negative Design Self-Portrait
(In this portrait, the nose was a bit big and the lips were a bit small, making it not so proportionate)
Mixing of colours -20th Feb-
(Woah, mixing colours are interesting 😊)
Mixing of colours -1st March-
(Today, I tried to add red to my light brown :D )
Mixing of colours -5th March-
(Today, I tried adding blue to my light brown 😀 )
Colours testing on hand (1)
(Can you see the colour? 🤭 )
Colours testing on hand (2)
(Decided to do more testing for different shades :oooo )
Self-portrait painting
-2nd April-
(The tone was darker on paper than on hand 😭 )
Self-portrait painting
-12th April-
(Ok, after colouring the whole face, it doesn't look that bad)
Self-portrait painting
-16th April-
(Nevermind 😭, the neck colour makes the whole thing seems dark, not my skin tone at all 😭😭😭😭)
Self-portrait painting
-26th April-
(OK FORGET WHAT I SAID BEFORE, THIS ACTUALLY LOOKS NOT BAD 😲)
Self-portrait painting
-30th April-
(With the colouring of the eyes and a little touch-up it looks much better👨🍳😘)
Silkscreen printmaking
(Quite proud of myself for doing all of it on my own😍😍)
Black print
(Not bad, I think it was done well but I might have put a little too much black paint😓)
Red Print
(This time I put less paint and I swiped more paint to the side so that not too much paint would be on my paper)
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRINTMAKING (SILKSCREEN PRINTING) AND PAINTING? WHICH DO YOU PREFER AND WHY?
My Reflections: I think that the difference between printmaking and painting is that printmaking is much easier to do compared to painting. You just need to trace the photo using carbon paper and just colour the areas that you don't want the light to see through using black. Afterward, you print the portrait with blue paint and let it under the light for 3 mins 45 secs. For the painting, the paint dries up very easily and the colour painted on the paper is different from the colour I see. Since, the pain dries up easily, it is difficult for me to mix the shades together. Therefore, I prefer the printmaking more.
HOW WOULD I LIKE TO IMPROVE MY WORK IF I WERE DO MY SILKSCREEN OR PAINTING AGAIN? PLS SPECIFY ONE TYPE.
My Reflections: I would like to improve my painting. The colour of my skin tone is a bit too dark compared to my actual skin tone. I think I should have taken a lighter skin colour compared to my actual skin tone so that when I paint it on my artwork, the colour can darken to make the same colour as my actual skin tone.
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