Two paintings by Frida Kahlo

.:First Impressions & Opinions

This exercise explores your skills of analytic observation as well as
your communication of first impressions and opinions. In addition, it encourages you to practice pre-writing techniques before finalizing a beginning draft for a project.
The assignment is not graded for content; however, it does count as a participation grade and specific objectives need to be met.

OBJECTIVES
• Complete a free-write session with random thoughts and observations regarding the painting:
Las Dos Fridas or Autorretrato Con Espinas.

• Do not worry about typos or grammatical errors.

• Your main objective is to fill out an entire sheet with the different ideas and impressions you gain from an artistic source.

• As a diagnostic exercise, it will show to me your powers of observation and analysis.

DEVELOPING YOUR FREE-WRITE RESPONSE
Often students hesitate and “blank out” in front of an empty page. This is a common aspect of the writing process—we all go through this stage at one time or another. If you need more focus on how to combat this feeling, concentrate on answering the following questions:
(be sure to use full phrases or full sentence format)

• What was your first reaction when you saw the painting?
• Why do you dislike/like the image? (Be very specific.)
• What makes her overall work popular even today?
• Can you imagine other people’s reactions?

In regards to Las Dos Fridas:
• Why do you think she chose to represent herself as two people?
• What emotions did you feel when you realized her heart is exposed?
• What emotions do you feel looking at her double portrait?
• What does her exposed heart(s) represent to you?

In regards to Autorretrato Con Espinas:
• What emotional tone does the painting seem to express?
• What emotions do you feel when you look at the work?
• What do the cat and the monkey have in common?
• Why are the two moths not in motion, yet two flowers are floating above her head?

IMPORTANT:
Do not complete background research—but do explore your initial responses to the art piece itself.