The Obsession of Nickolas Muray: Frida Kahlo

Ingrid and I went to the Wichita Art Museum this past weekend to view two exhibits, the Central American Textiles from the personal collection of Jerry Martin, director of the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology at WSU, and the photographs of Frida Kahlo, "Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray."

We are fans of Kahlo, the artist and icon, and students/friends of Jerry Martin, plus the two exhibits compliment each other and we were excited about our visit.

We were not disappointed. The photos of Frida are beautiful, colorful, and personable. The textiles from Central America were colorful, detailed, and admirable. I am amazed at the fine details and the expertise woven into the clothing created by a back-strap loom.

These articles of clothing included hand embroidered birds and flowers. Amazingly beautiful.

The photographs by Nickolas Murray were haunting in their capturing of the elusive Frida. She is one of my favorite artists, her surrealist paintings depicting her life story of pain and heartache, her love for Diego Rivera and her physical handicap (polio as a child and later a bus accident that kept her in constant agony), as well as her culture. She was the first Mexican artist to exhibit in The Louvre.

But, this was not about her paintings, these pictures were about the obsessive love of Nickolas for Frida. His photographs are many and included in the exhibit are letters from Frida to Nickolas. It is a private view into a love affair through photos and yellowed, handwritten love notes. Again, amazingly beautiful. The affair ends on February 1.

http://wichitaartmuseum.org/index.html