Painting Analysis
Over the years, people have found different means to represent their feelings and make an impression of the conditions that they are going through a stage in life. One of the main ideas that have been used for this purpose is art. It has been used to show the current feelings, environmental conditions, lifestyle of people, among many more. In times of crisis or change, the people display their feelings through the platforms. Over recent years, there have been many technological advances with the modern world becoming industrialized. In the United States, for example, there are areas where large companies have been set up. The changes and growth in the economy of nations is a reason why people may express concern. This paper is an analysis of a Self Portrait by Frida Kahlo and the means that the portrait represents issues that America and Mexico are undergoing.
Kahlo made the portrait when she was alone and could express the subject alone. In that case, the painting shows ideas in depth, based on her experiences in the two states. America is on the left side of the painting, while Mexico is on the right side of the lady. The American side is evident due to the presence of the flag and white smoke rising from a depiction of an industry. As noted earlier, the United States has a lot of industrialization. There is also the introduction of smart technology to make production easier in the industries (Deming). An excellent illustration is a measure by Apple’s leading producer Foxconn to fire all workers and replace them with intelligent robots. In the portrait, the lady drew the American side with large industry. From that, we can also see that a lady is stepping on a platform connected to a fan like a machine. It shows that the industries in America rely on oh humans to provide labor or operate the machinery.
On the Mexican side, there is little industrialization. In that case, the land seems underdeveloped and desert-like. Industrialization is the main reason that has promoted development in the United States. In Mexico, it is very little, and therefore the area has little of bildings and other places of infrastructure. Mexico is an opposite of the American side, where Kahlo drew skyscrapers and industries. The buildings in Mexico seem to be in a rumble showing the low rates of development. It could also depict the crumbling of the government or unstable form of ruling and exercise of power. In that setting, the Mexican government mismanages the resources leading to slow rates of infrastructural development (EdmondsPoli and Shirk). One can also see that land use in that state is very low. The picture shows open spaces of land in Mexico, while in the United States, there is little unused space. The poor use of land may also be a contributor to the low rates of development of Mexico.
Finally, the environmental aspects of the two nations are shown. The Mexican side has plants at the lady’s feet. There are no lants whatsoever on the American side. It shows that industrial development has led to poor measures taken to care for the environment in the United States. Though Mexico is depicted as dry land, there are areas that have good weather, and the environment there s favorable. Drawing the sun with a face and the moon with dark clouds around it shows the unfavorable climate in Mexico. The state experiences extreme weather changes due to its desert-like climate. During the day, the sun ravages the land and dries the water from every living thing while at night, extreme temperature drops are a major characteristic. The two conditions make the state almost uninhabitable. It is also hard to grow any crops due to weather changes.
Works Cited
Deming, W. E. (2018). The new economics for industry, government, education. MIT press.
Edmonds-Poli, E., & Shirk, D. A. (2020). Contemporary Mexican Politics. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.