MOMA virgin
Posted: December 29, 2011 Filed under: MOMA | Tags: art, beauty, feminism, hair, Kahlo, Mexican, MOMA, Rivera, unibrow 2 Comments
Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair Frida Kahlo, 1940, MOMA, New York
Been to alot of museums in my day, but today was a first for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Dragged along my significant other who isn’t much into art, although I’m making progress. Went straight for the fifth floor, not sure what I would find, but recognizing some big names that the SigO might tolerate. Got the audio guide phone to help us out, in case we forgot our art history – Ha!
Walking through the first gallery I was taken again by Frieda Kahlo’s magnificent unibrow. No wonder Diego Rivera left her (his exhibition is on the 1st floor). Seriously though. . .we all try real hard to beautify and she just is sitting there unabashedly glorifying the unibrow. My guess is she is questioning the power beauty gives a person and then just flat out making you admire her big unibrow. Ballsy!
Note to self: these were painted after her lover left. . .
Wandering through the galleries of picture snapping people, I was not prepared for major works by the heavy hitters that I had only seen in books. If you like the impressionists and post impressionists, you have to persevere and make it through to the end of the fifth floor galleries to hit the jackpot. Several huge (20 ft or more) canvases of Monet’s waterlilies! Incredible. They swallow you whole and make you gasp for air.
Definitely worth another visit. I will be coming back for more!
igetitart 
I have to admit to walking right past this one and don’t recall it at all. I like your view though. Questioning the power of beauty might not be the best idea (I apparently didn’t even see her long enough to chose to ignore her). Sorry. But now that we are looking at her and listening to her objections, I must ask the question, what is the deal with all the hair all over the ground?
I’m also intrigued with the Medusa-like strands of her hair writhing around on the floor, almost alive. Perhaps the fallen tresses show the anger that burns against her lover and against the feminine “ideal.” One of my step-moms cut her hair when she was mad. She walked around virtually bald.