Why’d They Put That In A Museum?
Show Notes
Artist:Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907 – 1954)
Item: Untitled (Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird), 1940
Details: Oil on canvas, mounted on board, 24 x 19 in. Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin
Untitled (Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird)
Frida Kahlo
Her image is on t-shirts and pendants, umbrellas and pillows. But who is Frida Kahlo and what does her art actually mean? Beth Bacon and museum curator Sarah Lees discuss this superstar artist and her 1940 painting Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.
This small, frontal, icon-like portrait shows Kahlo wearing a thorn necklace that draws blood. She’s surrounded by a hummingbird, butterflies, dense foliage, a monkey, and a black cat.
What does all that mean? Sarah and Beth explore the Christian and Aztec references. For example, in Mexican folk culture, the hummingbird is associated with love, while in Aztec culture it signifies a “warrior soul.”
Sarah and Beth connect possible animal symbolism to Kahlo’s relationships with Diego Rivera and photographer Nicholas Muray. And no discussion of Kahlo is complete without mentioning her politics, her impact on feminism, and of course her notorious monobrow.
Contact Us
Say helloAbout the Podcasters
Sarah Lees
Sarah is a museum curator and researcher who has worked in organizations both large and small, and who remembers her first assignment for an art history class – to look into Rembrandt’s eyes and describe what she saw there. She believes everyone can find those kinds of connections to some form of creative expression, whether it’s a painting, a grandmother’s quilt, or a perfectly formed pen-stroke in a manuscript.
Beth Bacon
In addition to being an avid museum-goer, Beth Bacon is an author for young readers. Her books empower today’s kids to learn about themselves and the world through reading. She is also a teacher and branding consultant and a volunteer at the Missouri History Museum. Beth holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, an MA in Communication Arts from NYU, and a BA in Literature from Harvard University.
Music Credit
The music you hear in the intro and outro was composed by Edward Whelan. We appreciate his contribution to our podcast.
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