The Love Embrace of the Universe - Article Example

The Love Embrace of the Universe Frida Kahlo is one of the more well-known female artists of the early20th century. She was born in Mexico and had to work from her bed most of the time because of a crippling illness she suffered as a child and a street car accident when she was older. She worked in a surrealist style. This means she worked to incorporate dream-like symbolism within her work as a means of expressing her ideas and impressions. As she worked to illustrate her ideas regarding her identity, Kahlo managed to capture the spirit of her people. In her painting “The Love Embrace of the Universe” for example, Kahlo provides answers to some of the major questions facing her people as a group. This is made clear when comparing Kahlo’s painting with an introspective article by Octavio Paz, “The Pachuco and Other Extremes,” published in his book The Labyrinth of Solitude. Kahlo’s painting is, at first glance, a beautiful expression of the love of the universe as it flows downward to the individual. The painting depicts a vaguely human image as the background universe, divided vertically between night and day, with its arms embracing another female figure, this one obviously intended to represent Mother Earth. The Mother Earth figure incorporates the plants and trees of Mexico as well as the animals of the earth, allowing her roots to twine about the arms of the universe and providing the necessary drop of life-giving water from an ample green breast. Within her embrace is a female figure, possibly a portrait of Kahlo herself, dressed in the traditional clothing of her homeland. Her full red and yellow dress provides a stark contrast to the green of her background and the vivid color instantly draws the eye into this center of the painting. Finally, this figure, with the help of the Earth Mother, embraces the naked form of a grown individual who appears to be male, but this is not necessarily certain. Although this individual appears full-grown, ‘he’ lies in a fetal position, his head and shoulders in the Indian woman’s lap and his legs supported by the hand of the Earth Mother. A third eye positioned in the center of his forehead indicates a being of enlightenment, which is an idea supported by the presence of flames within his hands. Through this depiction, Kahlo captures a lot of the sentiments expressed through Paz’s article. According to Paz, “the history of Mexico is the history of a man seeking his parentage, his origins … What is he pursuing in his eccentric course? He wants to go back beyond the catastrophe he suffered: he wants to be a sun again, to return to the center of that life from which he was separated one day. (Was that day the Conquest? Independence?)” (Paz 20). This is shown in Kahlo’s work through the portrayal of the native costume within the center of the painting, given prominence through position, vividness and contrast. Because of its similarities to the traditional Christian portrayal of the Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus, which would be very recognizable to a mostly Catholic community, Kahlo also pulls in the collective desire for spiritual connection expressed through Paz’s writing. “Our solitude has the same roots as religious feelings. It is a form of orphanhood, an obscure awareness that we have been torn from the All, and an ardent search: a flight and a return, an effort to re-establish the bonds that unite us with the universe” (Paz 20). While Paz indicates that the Mexican of the modern world is still struggling to find a place to call home, Kahlo provides this connection through the familiar landscape of Mexico and its intrinsic connection to the world and the universe. The fact that she expresses the much-desired and often missed connection of the Mexican people through the simple human gesture of an embrace enables Kahlo to illustrate the sense of life and carpe diem uniquely experienced by the Mexican people. She does this by incorporating the symbol of the celebratory costume on the body of the Indian woman and the intimacy of the various points of contact between the various figures. “Mexicans … both ancient and modern, believe in communion and fiestas: there is no health without contact” (24). The health of the people is illustrated not only in their close contact with each other and with the elements of nature, but also in the tremendous growth of plants around them. Although the desert is usually associated with death and absence of life, this image depicts the great variety of life of the Mexican landscape and the health it can provide for its people. Through physical contact with one another, each figure is able to share the fruits of their being to the other. The universe is able to bring forth the light and darkness necessary for life on earth. The Earth Mother is able to provide food and water for the people and the animals and the Indian woman is able to provide the man with his connection to nature and to his traditions. Finally, the man is able to provide his enlightened mind, shown by the third eye and flames on his hands. Perhaps most importantly in the painting, though, is the philosophy of human purpose in life as it is experienced at a deeper level. More than simple physical contact, the painting illustrates the close relationship that exists between humans and nature, knowledge and innocence and perhaps even life and death. Paz makes references to the centrality of these concepts to traditional Mexican thought as he worries that this is perhaps a lost concept. “What is even more serious, I am afraid we have lost our sense of the very meaning of all human activity, which is to assure the operation of an order in which knowledge and innocence, man and nature are in harmony. If the solitude of the Mexican is like a stagnant pool, that of the North American is like a mirror. We have ceased to be springs of living water” (Paz 27). This idea may also be captured within Kahlo’s painting as the drop of life-giving water provided by the Earth Mother appears to be ready to drop with nothing evident ready to make use of it. While the plants will need it to live, there are no plants growing right under the place where the water will fall. While the people will need it, neither the Indian mother nor the man in her lap appear to notice the drop. Finally, none of the figures seem to take any true notice of the others. Although they are still connected, in the most intimate of ways, they seem to have lost the deeper contact that is required for a healthy environment. By allowing herself to explore her dream imagery and symbolism, Frida Kahlo manages to capture not only her own conflicted sense of connection and disconnection, but also the rootless sense of many Mexicans in the modern age. She begins with a comforting image of an intimate multiple motherly embrace. This satisfies the Mexicans’ need for a close connection with others and with nature as well as celebrates the uniqueness of the culture and the society. Because of these features, the painting quickly draws the viewer in and invites them to explore it further. However, disconnections exist as the fruits of the Earth Mother are permitted to go to waste and the individual figures within the painting remain seemingly unaware of the others, which also captures the sense of Mexicans today, again as expressed through the writings of Paz. Works Cited Kahlo, Frida. “The Love Embrace of the Universe.” Oil on canvas. (1949). Paz, Octavio. “The Pachuka and Other Extremes.” The Labyrinth of Solitude. Grove Press, 2003. Read More