You have to create the Paining online and explain your decisions.
Frida Kahlo is Mexico’s most famous woman painter and easily the most expensive artist that Latin America has ever produced. This high price has encouraged forgeries. In recent years, a growing number of paintings bearing the name Frida Kahlo have been consigned for sale in auctions worldwide. There is now a real need to confirm the legitimacy of every Kahlo painting being sold or put on display.
During her life, Freda Khalo created approximately 100 self-portraits. Around 50 paintings are on public display. But nobody is sure of the exact number. Perhaps there are lost portraits waiting to be found and introduced to the world? Your goal is to create one of these “lost” self-portraits.
You can find out more about fake Kahlo paintings and the prices of genuine paintings recently sold at auction here: http://www.freemanart.ca/FridaKahlo.htm (Links to an external site.)
If you would like to read more about the world of art forgeries, and, in particular, what makes a good art forgery see: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/15/how-to-spot-a-perfect-fake-the-worlds-top-art-forgery-detective (Links to an external site.)
As you know, Khalo’s self-portraits have several key elements. Each portrait is carefully framed: some just focus on Kahlo’s head and shoulders whilst others include multiple characters and landscapes. Each portrait explores one or more key themes from her life: her physical problems, her relationship with her husband, and her mixed cultural heritage. Finally, each portrait contains extensive use of symbolic imagery to communicate these ideas.
Your forged portrait should be carefully framed, address one key theme, and contain multiple symbolic images.
Specific Instructions:
First, reread the material for the portrait week.
Your portrait can be created by hand or by using a program such as photoshop to manipulate and change existing portraits into a new creation. You should submit a copy of your portrait as a PDF file. Your portrait will be graded based on its historical accuracy.
Along with your forged portrait, you should submit a 1-2, double-spaced explanation of the choice you have made, specifically explaining which theme you are addressing and the meanings of the symbolic imagery used. Remember to include evidence to support your explanation. Your evidence can be primary sources (other portraits that have influenced your choice) and/or secondary sources (other people’s analysis). For every source in your paper, you must include the relevant citation in APA format (in-text citation with an endnote).
If you are unsure about how to use citations, please book an appointment with the writing centre.
Bonus Points:
The assignment is worth 100 points, and again there are 25 bonus points available. As everybody will be attempting to forge a portrait or map, the bonus will be given for forgeries that contain extra historical details.
