Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable

This certainly isn't the world's most comforting image for most to feast their eyes upon- I'm sure many people would rather look at beautiful paintings of landscapes, flowers, etc- or really anything besides this centaur-like wounded and bloodied deer carcas prancing through the woods. But, anyone who is remotely familiar with the paintings of my girl Frida Kahlo knows all too well that pretty landscapes and simple portaits weren't quit her thing. She was a beyond-brilliant visionary and a revolutionary in every sense of these words, not just as an artist, but as a human being in general. But, as influential, successful, and historically and culturally significant as her and her work were, her life was plagued with tragedy and misfortune. Miss Frida was in a catastrophic trolley crash when she was very young that left her with countless debilitating and life-altering injuries- she was left infertile, and was virtually bed-ridden and in agony the majority of her life. On top of this, she was in one of the most toxic, tumultous, and injurous marriages in history, with one of Mexico's best and most accomplished muralists, Diego Rivera.

If you feel uncomfortable, sad, pained, anxious, etc, looking at this painting, GOOD! Congrats! You've received the message, you peered into her heart and soul and life.

Frida's my favorite artist, ever- why? She never sugar-coated a damn thing. Not one painting, not one word in the letters she wrote, and not one word she spoke. She was unabashedly and unashamedly honest and real, even when her reality (all the time) was plagued with pain.

Here's to Frida.