DEFYING DEFINITION: THE JUDGEMENT OF FRIDA KAHLO AND BAYA MAHIEDDINE

 She's My Muse | Jaime Meier

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Baya, Femme attablées | Source

Art institutions often organize their permanent collection around a timeline, location, or similar genre of art. While this approach can be helpful for the visitor, assigning a genre to female artists of colour can often fail to adequately capture their identity and artistic practice. Artistic styles, such as impressionism or cubism, are not assigned based on style alone, but are informed by ideals enforced by colonialism and identity politics. Such is the case with Frida Kahlo and Baya Mahieddine, two talented artists who, despite subverting definition, are entwined within the genres of surrealism and primitivism. 

Surrealism was an artistic movement that focused on interpreting the human experience through exploring the subconscious and dreams and rejecting rationality. The surrealist style of painting relied on the colonial gaze as a lens to view and appropriate non-white cultures. The pioneers of surrealism, such as André Breton, were not simply painting and writing about dreams, but sought "inspiration" from peoples in the Americas, South Pacific, and Africa — all of which were considered to be "primitive." Non-white cultures were incorrectly viewed as simpler and without the societal restrictions that the surrealists intended to free themselves from. While the white men of surrealism looked to other cultures, women of colour associated with surrealism looked to express their own cultures. 

Frida Kahlo, Las Dos Fridas | Source

Frida Kahlo is well known for her colourful paintings that use cultural references to depict major events in her life. Art was a therapeutic way for Kahlo to process her memories of the Mexican Revolution, medical issues that permanently disabled her, a tumultuous marriage, and difficult miscarriages. Breton took a special interest in Kahlo and included her work in the International Exhibition of Surrealist Art in Mexico City. Kahlo ultimately rejected the title of "Surrealist," as they painted dreams and Kahlo painted her reality. Instead of allowing her lived experiences to be interpreted and given meaning by white men, Kahlo turned away from the European tradition and embraced the identity of a naïve painter, a genre that was often used to demean self-taught artists and associate them with primitivism. 

Similar to Kahlo, Baya Mahieddine had her art narrowly defined by Breton as surrealism. Baya was a talented painter from Algeria and was cared for by her grandmother until adopted by the French intellectual and art collector, Marguerite Camina Benhoura. Art historians are conflicted about whether it was a familial adoption or if Baya was hired to work alongside her grandmother, who was already employed by Benhoura as a maid. Regardless of the relationship, Benhoura was aware of Baya's talent and supported her efforts, ultimately resulting in her first exhibition in Paris at only 16 years old. 

Portrait of Baya alongside her painting Femme robe jaune cheveux bleus | Source

Baya's colourful paintings of fellow Algerian women caught the eyes of Pablo Picasso and André Breton. Picasso was thought to be inspired by her aesthetic, specifically Baya's line-work and use of colour. He invited her to work with him and lead him to create the "Women of Algeria" series. While Picasso had an appreciation for Baya, he would refer to her as "La Berbère," which denoted her ethnic origin, which seems to speak more to Picasso's fascination and exploitation of African cultures for personal gain rather than a respect for them. Breton was also considered to be a supporter of Baya, but in his writings he referred to her art as "childlike" and "primitive." Throughout her career, Baya refused to associate herself with one genre of art as the definitions provided were a way of examining her instead of understanding her art. 

Categorizations of art can be a helpful interpretation method for visitors or a systematic way for museums to exhibit their collections. However, it is important to keep in mind the conditions that formed organizational systems and their lasting implications on the art and artists they capture. Through neatly defined artistic genres, women inspired by their homelands were called or claimed to be primitivists, while the men whose countries had colonized and appropriated their cultures were surrealists.