Words + Images

I admire Frida Kahlo for two things, her bold use of vibrant colors and her ability to make her physical self the center of so many of her paintings.  She is quoted as saying:  “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.”  It’s one thing as a writer, photographer, painter, etc. to create a work based on one’s perception of the world.  It’s different and harder, I think, to place one’s self at the center of the creative work.  For me, when I try my hand at self-portraiture in writing or photography, I feel both empowered and very vulnerable.  The vulnerability stems from “putting myself out there” and … (gasp!) what if people don’t like me and don’t like what I do?  What if the image I present is different than the one currently held by friends and family? In short, the vulnerability stems from fear.  The empowerment emerges from a more solid and powerful place.

For me, self-portraits are like a shout-out to the world that I exist and here I am at this given point in time.  If I do a self-portrait tomorrow, then that will be me at that point in time.  Maybe happy, maybe not.  Maybe beautiful, maybe not.  In pain.  In love.  Celebrating life.