Frida Kahlo Never Left the Picture

Frida Kahlo died in 1954, but her memory lives on. You can find her on coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, clothing, and just about anything else with a decent surface area to accommodate her face.

Take a look at the photograph I took at a tattoo convention. Legs belong to Ann who I will be posting a story about soon. Frida, is occupying a good portion of a Ann’s thigh, and it’s a nice piece of artwork.

Frida Kahlo wasn’t nearly as famous during her lifetime as she became after her death. Today, her paintings hang in museums, her face appears on merchandise around the world, and Frida Kahlo tattoos have become another way people celebrate her image. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston even organized an exhibition examining how this Mexican painter became an international cultural icon and commercial brand.

The FK tattoo is what got my attention. The flowers, colors, facial details, and the recognizable features all have to come together on a surface considerably less cooperative than canvas. Tattoo artists don’t have the luxury of hanging the human body on a wall and asking their subjects to stand perfectly still whenever they want to admire their work.

Frida painted a ton of self-portraits, presenting herself through her own artistic perspective. Today, tattoo artists are creating portraits of Frida through theirs. I wonder how many paintings, drawings, and tattoos of her face exist around the world.

For collectors considering portrait tattoos, Inker gives people a place to discover tattoo artists and examine their work before committing to a design. A familiar face deserves an artist capable of doing it justice, whether that face belongs to a family member, a musician, or a Mexican painter whose artwork continues to attract admirers around the world.

Frida spent years painting pictures of herself. More than seventy years after her death, other artists are still painting pictures of her, including tattoo artists whose canvases have places to go and people to meet.

If you’re sporting a Frida Kahlo tattoo, post a picture, tag Inker, and shoot us a message. We’ll send you some Inker swag for showing her off! Who knows, I might even find another story worth writing about.

J Gekko
Staff Writer, Inker