Marina Abramovic/Frida Kahlo/Cui Xiuwen Comparison

The time in which these artists have created their artwork has spanned many years, each living in a different time, yet all deal with some sort of feminine portrayal. Frida Kahlo was the first of the three artists who lived in Mexico, growing up during the time of social change, and died in the 1950’s. Kahlo paints self-portraits most of the time because she claims she is the person she knows best. The main elements portrayed in her work are the emotions of joy, love, creativity, and passion. Physical and emotional pains are important factors but not the main elements of her work. Kahlo This is not long before the time of Marina Abramovic started her work in Yugoslavia around the time of WWII. Her work was always on the cutting edge, pushing the boundaries of art and use the body as an expression of form. Her current work at MOMA is a retrospective, recreating several of her prior works and in her eyes the finishing of a huge amount of works. Her interest right now is legacy because she is “in the third act” of her life. This is quite the opposite spectrum of where Cui Xiuwen is. Xiuwen was born in 1970 in Haerbin, China. In her work she portrays a young, Chinese girls and the social expectations of women of the time. Some of her recent work portrays the issues of the female at a time of motherhood and related issues such as pregnancy and maternity. The mediums with which each works is different, although all have been painters at some point in their art career. Kahlo’s work has always been painting and is best described as surrealistic although Kahlo herself argues that she says, “ I do not paint dreams…I paint my reality.” Both Abramovic and Xiuwen had begun painting and had epiphanies to cause them to feel like the medium wasn’t able to convey their work any longer. Abramovic has worked in several mediums such as interventions, sound, video, and performances. Her work often tests the limits of the body and elicits cultural critiques and these are often of a feminist kind. Xiuwen addresses emotions of anxiety, concerns, vulnerability, ambition, and compassion for women in her work. This is done through photography and video. For Xiuwen painting wasn’t able to present time lapse and switch of space nor able to have the narration her current work does. Each woman deals with a struggle and deals with it a little differently. For Kahlo it was that of boredom and physical constraints when bedfast. Her work however has a positive outlook on life, which made her work become both a cultural and historical icon. Abramovic has strong feministic influences and is a reaction against the cultural restrictions on the females of the time, pushing boundaries, and having resolute emotion. Xiuwen follows some in Abramovic’s steps but just highlights the struggle and not screaming for attention. Yet the overall mood created by Xiuwen is cooler and one of stress and despair. Kahlo produced work about herself, Abramovic the female artist, and Xiuwen’s work is about every woman in China.