A white canvas. A flash of colours. A piece of art.
One day in my class, a student showcased her
painting. She posed a question to the audience—what do you see? Interpretations
filled the room, each voice adding its own colour. When my turn came, I offered
something different. This isn't about claiming my reading was superior; rather,
it's about how deeply I understood her vision. That painting explored the
delicate boundary between the world within the self and the world beyond it.
Earlier this week, I stumbled upon
captivating news—El Sueño
by Frida Kahlo sold for $54.7 million, making it the most valuable work by a
woman artist ever auctioned. When critics labelled it a reflection of her
dreams, she famously countered, "I never painted dreams; I painted my own
reality." Amid a long-term terminal illness, her body weakened by polio
since childhood and her spirit tested by a turbulent marriage, Frida was
confined to her bed. Yet while her body remained bound, her mind soared free,
and her creativity knew no limits.
Being an artist is like wielding magic, and I
believe we are all artists in our own right. Don't we constantly imagine
ourselves being this or that, saying one thing or another? Whether navigating
pain or pleasure, laughter or tears, remorse or defiance, we all yearn for the
freedom to express our truth. In an earlier interview, Frida described her art
as a bridge between worlds—a space where she could explore her morality. Not a
morality subjected to others' judgment, but one aligned with her gut, her
conscience, her unapologetic self. Perhaps that's the real magic: the courage
to carve our own canopy in a world that often demands we conform.
Frida painted her reality. What will you and
I paint in ours?
This was such a beautifully written reflection... ma'am , It truly made me think about how each of us shapes our own reality
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Branish!
DeleteIsn't it nice when Frida told she painted her reality and not her dreams
ReplyDeleteHow many of us are ready to break our casts?
We view ourselves within ourselves or within someone else even through music, colours and lot more
Is that survival or living?
Surviving by quenching the thirst just by looking at someone living some of our dreams
Frida lived herself by letting her reality live out of the cast, isn't she?
Learnt from your previous content mam
To all your upcoming contents✨.......
It indeed requires a lot of courage to not only break our chains but also to express ourselves, our lived experiences, our reality so vividly and through artistic beauty :)
DeleteIsn't it the point of living rather than simply surviving?
Thank you for the thought dear!
Yes mam✨
Delete"Yath bhaavam Thath Bhavathi" --> What you think is what you become.
ReplyDeleteIt captures the moment where we run-through in our minds what we are about to encounter (or) experience. The painting of Frida gives us the idea that 'it is not the external forces that decide who we are (or) who we want to be....it is US who limit ourselves..'
The physical body may have limitations, but the inner being (Atma) is limitless, boundaryless... It knows about our past avatars, lives in the present, and awaits the future.... Once we understand our self, we can do wonders in this prakriti.....
Of course Shriram! Her entire life is a testimony to how even in the most constrained of circumstances, there is so much room for self expression through art. Art that liberates! :)
DeleteThank you for the thought! A very interesting one at that.