Life & People: 07 (JUL)

Showing posts with label 07 (JUL). Show all posts

Lisa Alther (1944- )

Lisa Alther

Lisa Alther is an American author and novelist born on July 23, 1944, in Kingsport, Tennessee.[1]

¶ I happen to feel that the degree of a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting attitudes she can bring to bear on the same topic.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Alther

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656)

Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (US: /ˌdʒɛntiˈlɛski/,[1][2] Italian: [arteˈmiːzja dʒentiˈleski]; 8 July 1593 – c. 1656) was an Italian Baroque painter.[1]

Quotes·Quotations by Artemisia Gentileschi

***

Images


Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638–39

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi

Peder Severin Krøyer (1851-1909)

Part of
Self portrait,
1897

Peder Severin Krøyer
페더 세버린 크뢰이어

Peder Severin Krøyer (Danish: [ˈpʰe̝ːðɐ ˈse̝vəˌʁiˀn ˈkʰʁʌjˀɐ]; 23 July 1851 – 21 November 1909), also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter.[1]

Images

Works


Summer Evening on Skagen's Southern Beach, 1893, 100 x 150 cm, Skagens Museum

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peder_Severin_Kr%C3%B8yer

Walter Benjamin

Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (July 15, 1892 – September 27, 1940) was a German Jewish literary critic and philosopher. He was at times associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory, and was also greatly inspired by the Marxism of Bertolt Brecht and the Jewish mysticism of Gershom Scholem.

@ There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a document of barbarism. [Theses on the Philosophy of History (1940) VII]

@ This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing in from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. This storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin

Jacob Aagaard (1973- )

Jacob Aagaard (1973- )

Jacob Aagaard (born 31 July 1973) is a Danish-born Scottish chess Grandmaster and British Champion in 2007. He is also a chess author and co-owner of Quality Chess, a chess publishing house.

@ The choice of moves should not be made on an exact verdict of the final position, but on whether or not your position has improved or worsened.
As quoted in his Excelling at Positional Chess (2003), p. 19.

@ Whenever we see an unprotected piece we must keep our eyes peeled because this is one of the most important ingredients of a combination.
As quoted in his Excelling at Positional Chess (2003), p. 159.

@ We always say, one day we will laugh at this. I always try to make sure that this one day is today…
"Are chess players intelligent?" Quality Chess Blog (6 October 2010)

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacob_Aagaard

Tom Cruise (1962- )

Tom Cruise (1962- )

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV ( /ˈtɒməs ˈkruːz ˈmeɪpɒθər/; born July 3, 1962), widely known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards for the same movies that are Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999). He started his career with the movie Endless Love. Cruise's first appearance in a major film was in 1981's Taps. His first leading role was in the film Risky Business, released in August 1983. Cruise played the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and successful 1986 film Top Gun, and also secret agent Ethan Hunt in the series of Mission: Impossible action films.

He has starred in a variety of other successful films such as Rain Man (1988), Days of Thunder (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004) and War of the Worlds (2005) Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol . Since 2005, Cruise and Paula Wagner have been in charge of the United Artists film studio, with Cruise as producer and star and Wagner as the chief executive. Cruise is also known for his support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology.

Quotes·Quotation by Tom Cruise

Maverick from Top Gun (1986)

¶ I feel the need... the need for speed!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cruise

Thomas Gibson (1962- )

Thomas Gibson (1962- )

Thomas Ellis Gibson (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor. His best known roles include Daniel Nyland on CBS's Chicago Hope, Greg Montgomery on ABC's Dharma & Greg, and Aaron Hotchner on CBS's Criminal Minds.

Quotes·Quotations by Thomas Gibson

Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner from Criminal Minds

¶ "Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." Ernest Hemingway [Criminal Minds 04.01 Mayhem]

@ "I'm not sure about automobiles. With all their speed forward, they may be a step backward in civilization." Booth Tarkington [Criminal Minds 04.23 Roadkill]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gibson

Satchel Paige (1906-1982)

Satchel Paige (1906-1982)

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American baseball player whose pitching in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball (MLB) made him a legend in his own lifetime. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971, the first player to be inducted based upon his play in the Negro leagues.

Paige was a right-handed pitcher and was the oldest rookie to play in the MLB at the age of 42. He played with the St. Louis Browns until age 47, and represented them in the All-Star Game in 1952 and 1953. He first played for the semi-professional Mobile Tigers from 1924 to 1926.

Paige began his professional career in 1926 with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts of the Negro Southern League, and played his last professional game on June 21, 1966, for the Peninsula Grays of the Carolina League.[3]

Paige was among the most famous and successful players from the Negro Leagues. While his outstanding control as a pitcher first got him noticed, it was his infectious, cocky, enthusiastic personality and his love for the game that made him a star. On town tours across America, Paige would have his infielders sit down behind him and then routinely strike out the side[4]. As a member of the Cleveland Indians, Paige became the oldest rookie in Major league Baseball and attracted record crowds wherever he pitched.

Quotes·Quotations by Satchel Paige

Advice

¶ Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.

¶ Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.

Age

¶ Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

Food

¶ Don't eat fried food. It angries up the blood.

Notes

[1]^ a b "Famous Monarchs Play Copper Sox Tonight" Montana Standard, Butte, Montana, Saturday Morning, July 1, 1939, Page 8, Columns 1 and 3
[2]^ a b c "Satchel Paige to Take Slab Monday Against Ogden Club" Ogden Standard-Examiner, Ogden UT, August 18, 1940, Page 7, Columns 1, 2, 4, and 5
[3]^ Tye 2009, pp. 24–29, 272.
[4]^ .Kelley, James. Baseball. New York: Shoreline Publishing Group, 2000. 44-45. Print.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satchel_Paige

Shoeless Joe Jackson (1887-1951)

Shoeless Joe Jackson (1887-1951)

Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century. He is remembered for his performance on the field and for his association with the Black Sox Scandal, in which members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox participated in a conspiracy to fix the World Series. As a result of Jackson's association with the scandal, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Major League Baseball's first commissioner, banned Jackson from playing after the 1920 season.

Jackson played for three different Major League teams during his 12-year career. He spent 1908–1909 as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics and 1910 with the minor league New Orleans Pelicans before joining the Cleveland Naps at the end of the 1910 season. He remained in Cleveland through the first part of the 1915; he played the remainder of the 1915 season through 1920 with the Chicago White Sox.

Jackson, who played left field for most of his career, currently has the third- highest career batting average in major league history. In 1911, Jackson hit for a .408 average. It is still the sixth-highest single-season total since 1901, which marked the beginning of the modern era for the sport. His average that year also set the record for batting average in a single season by a rookie. Babe Ruth later claimed that he modeled his hitting technique after Jackson's.

Jackson still holds the Indians and White Sox franchise records for both triples in a season and career batting average. In 1999, he ranked number 35 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The fans voted him as the 12th-best outfielder of all-time. He also ranks 33rd on the all-time list for non-pitchers according to the win shares formula developed by Bill James.

Jackson was reported to be illiterate, a charge to which he was sensitive. In restaurants, rather than ask someone to read the menu to him, he would wait until his teammates ordered and then order one of the items that he heard.

Quotes·Quotation by Shoeless Joe Jackson

Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe Jackson from Field of Dreams (1989)

¶ "If you build it, he will come."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoeless_Joe_Jackson

Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974)

Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974)

Samuel Goldwyn (c. July 1879 – January 31, 1974) was an American film producer. He was most notably well known for being the founding contributor and executive of several motion picture studios in Hollywood.

Quotes·Quotations by Samuel Goldwyn

Writing·Reading

¶ I read part of it all the way through.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Goldwyn

Robin Williams (1951- )

Robin Williams (1951- )

Robin McLaurin Williams (born July 21, 1951) is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork & Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. He has also won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.

Quotes·Quotation by Robin Williams

John Keating from Dead Poets Society

¶ Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Williams

Robert Hays (1947- )

Robert Hays (1947- )

Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor and is arguably most well known for his role in the movie Airplane!

Quotes·Quotations by Robert Hays

Robert Hays as Ted Striker from Airplane! (1980)

¶ Surely you can't be serious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hays

Roger Babson (1875-1967)

Roger Babson (1875-1967)

Roger Ward Babson (July 6, 1875 – March 5, 1967), remembered today largely for founding Babson College in Massachusetts, was an entrepreneur and business theorist in the first half of the 20th century. He also founded Webber College, now Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, and the defunct Utopia College, in Eureka, Kansas.

He was born to Nathaniel Babson and his wife Ellen Stearns as part of the tenth generation of Babsons to live in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Roger attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked for investment firms before founding, in 1904, Babson's Statistical Organization, which analyzed stocks and business reports. It continues today as Babson-United, Inc..

On March 29, 1900, Babson married his first wife, Grace Margaret Knight.

According to biographer John Mulkern, Babson attributed the business cycle
to Sir Isaac Newton's law of action and reaction.... His pseudoscientific notion, that the laws of physics account for every rise and ebb in the economy, had no more validity than [astrology or alchemy]. But just as astrology gave birth to astronomy and alchemy to chemistry, so, too, did Babson's efforts to explain the economic cycle... lead to the economic breakthrough that revolutionized the business of economic forecasting.

Babson authored more than forty books on economic and social problems, the most widely read being Business Barometers (eight editions) and Business Barometers for Profits, Security, Income (ten editions). Babson also wrote hundreds of magazine articles and newspaper columns. He was a popular lecturer on business and financial trends.

Babson was an investor and sometimes director of many corporations, including some traded on the New York Stock Exchange. He established an investment advisory company Babson's Reports which published one of the oldest investment newsletters in America.

Babson had "ten commandments" he followed in investing and encouraged his readers to do the same. These were:
Keep speculation and investments separate.
Don't be fooled by a name.
Be wary of new promotions.
Give due consideration to market ability.
Don't buy without proper facts.
Safeguard purchases through diversification.
Don't try to diversify by buying different securities of the same company.
Small companies should be carefully scruitinized.
Buy adequate security, not super abundance.
Choose your dealer and buy outright (i.e., don't buy on margin.)

On September 5, 1929, he gave a speech saying, "Sooner or later a crash is coming, and it may be terrific." Later that day the stock market declined by about 3%. This became known as the "Babson Break". The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression soon followed.

Babson was the Prohibition Party's candidate for President of the United States in 1940. Election was won by incumbent President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the Democratic Party. Babson was surpassed by two other unsuccessful candidates:
Wendell Lewis Willkie of the Republican Party.
Norman Mattoon Thomas of the Socialist Party of America.

Babson founded the Gravity Research Foundation in 1948. The Foundation established a research facility in the town of New Boston, New Hampshire after Babson determined that this location was far enough away from the city of Boston, Massachusetts to survive a nuclear attack.

Quotes·Quotation

Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Babson

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)

Robert Anson Heinlein ( /ˈhaɪnlaɪn/ hyn-lyn)(July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers," he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was one of the first science fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science fiction novelists for many decades. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction.

Heinlein, a notable writer of science fiction short stories, was one of a group of writers who came to prominence under the editorship of John W. Campbell, Jr. in his Astounding Science Fiction magazine—though Heinlein denied that Campbell influenced his writing to any great degree.

Within the framework of his science fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also examined the relationship between physical and emotional love, explored various unorthodox family structures, and speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices. His approach to these themes led to wildly divergent opinions on what views were being expounded via his fiction.

The 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land is viewed by many as his masterpiece, incorporating many of the aforementioned themes found in his literature. It also contains perhaps the clearest explication of Heinlein's metaphysical, and possibly spiritual, philosophy, encapsulated in the iconic phrase "Thou art god". This philosophy resonated greatly with readers in the counterculture at the time. Since its publication, Stranger in a Strange Land has been a classic among counterculture readers. It has enjoyed widespread success, being one of the most popular science fiction books of all time, and is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.

Heinlein won Hugo Awards for four of his novels; in addition, fifty years after publication, three of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for years in which Hugo Awards had not been awarded. He also won the first Grand Master Award, given by the Science Fiction Writers of America, for his lifetime achievement. In his fiction Heinlein coined words that have become part of the English language, including "grok" and "waldo", and popularized the term "TANSTAAFL".

Quotes·Quotation

Men·Women

¶ Women and Cats will do as they please. Men and dogs had better get used to it.

@ A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as "state" and "society" and "government" have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame … as blame, guilt, responsibility are matters taking place inside human beings singly and nowhere else. But being rational, he knows that not all individuals hold his evaluations, so he tries to live perfectly in an imperfect world … aware that his effort will be less than perfect yet undismayed by self-knowledge of self-failure. [Robert A. Heinlein in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress]
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Falero_Luis_Ricardo_moon_nymph.jpg/222px-Falero_Luis_Ricardo_moon_nymph.jpg

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein

Roald Amundsen (1872-1928)

Roald Amundsen (1872-1928)

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈɾuːɑl ˈɑmʉnsən]; 16 July 1872 – c. 18 June 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the Antarctic expedition (1910-12) to discover the South Pole in December 1911 and he was the first expedition leader to (undisputedly) reach the North Pole in 1926. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage (1903-06). He disappeared in June 1928 while taking part in a rescue mission. Amundsen, along with Douglas Mawson, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Quotes·Quotation

Expedition

¶ I may say that this is the greatest factor: the way in which the expedition is equipped, the way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it. Victory awaits him who has everything in order, luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time, this is called bad luck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen

Iris Murdoch (1919-1999)

Iris Murdoch (1919-1999)

Dame Iris Murdoch DBE (15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her first published novel, Under the Net, was selected in 1998 as one of Modern Library's 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 1987, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2008, The Times ranked Murdoch twelfth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".[1]

Quotes·Quotations by Iris Murdoch

Art

¶ All art is a struggle to be, in a particular sort of way, virtuous.

¶ Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.

¶ But fantasy kills imagination, pornography is death to art.

Happiness

¶ My happiness has a sad face, so sad that for years I took it for my unhappiness and drove it away.

Love

¶ Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.

¶ Falling out of love is very enlightening. For a short while you see the world with new eyes.

¶ We can only learn to love by loving.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_Murdoch

Kate Bush (1958- )

Kate Bush (1958- )

Kate Bush (born Catherine Bush on July 30, 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer; sister of John Carder Bush

Alchemy

@ What a lovely afternoon
On a cloudbusting kind of day.
We took our own 'Mystery Tour'
And got completely lost somewhere up in the hills.
And we came up on a bee-keeper,
And he said "Did you know they can change it all?"
They got alchemy.
They turn the roses into gold
They turn the lilac into honey
They're making love for the peaches.

And they'll do it,
Do it for you.

Kate Bush, in "You Want Alchemy" (B-side of "The Red Shoes" single) (4 April 1994)

***

@ Artists shouldn't be made famous. You know... they're just ... as important as... um doctors, and priests ... or maybe not as important sometimes, and yet they have this huge aura of almost god-like quality about them, just because their craft makes a lot of money. And at the same time it is a forced importance — you know, football stars and theatre stars — It is man-made so the press can feed off it.
Profiles in Rock interview (December 1980)

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Nathaniel Hawthorne (born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer.

He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824,[1] and graduated in 1825. Hawthorne published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828; he later tried to suppress it, feeling it was not equal to the standard of his later work.[2] He published several short stories in various periodicals which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at a Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children.

Much of Hawthorne's writing centers on New England, many works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, Dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend Franklin Pierce.

Quotes·Quotations by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Autumn

¶ I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.

Notes

[1]^ Who Belongs To Phi Beta Kappa, ’Phi Beta Kappa website’’, accessed Oct 4, 2009
[2]^ Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1828). Fanshawe. Boston: Marsh & Capen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne

Liv Tyler (1977- )

Liv Tyler (1977- )

Liv Rundgren Tyler (born July 1, 1977) is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994 film Silent Fall. She then appeared in supporting roles in Empire Records (1995), Heavy (1996) and That Thing You Do! (1996). Tyler later achieved critical recognition in the leading role in Stealing Beauty (1996). She followed this by starring in supporting roles including Inventing the Abbotts (1997) and Cookie's Fortune (1999).

Tyler achieved international recognition as a result of her portrayal of Elf maiden Arwen Undómiel in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. She has appeared in an eclectic range of films, including the 2004 comedy Jersey Girl, the indie film Lonesome Jim (2005), the drama Reign Over Me (2007) and big-budget studio films such as Armageddon (1998), The Strangers (2008) and The Incredible Hulk (2008).

Tyler has served as a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador for the United States since 2003, and as a spokesperson for Givenchy's line of perfume and cosmetics.

Quotes·Quotations by Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler as Corey Mason from Empire Records (1995)

¶ And I did love you, and I still do. Only I didn't realize it was love, because it was more than love but it wasn't just some stupid feeling in my stomach like everything else and I'll never love anyone as much as you, and I hate you. I hate you!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liv_Tyler

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

Frida Kahlo de Rivera (Spanish pronunciation: ['fɾiða 'kalo]; born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón; July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, who is best known for her self-portraits.[1]

Kahlo's life began and ended in Mexico City, in her home known as the Blue House. She gave her birth date as July 7, 1910, but her birth certificate shows July 6, 1907. Kahlo had allegedly wanted the year of her birth to coincide with the year of the beginning of the Mexican revolution so that her life would begin with the birth of modern Mexico. Her work has been celebrated in Mexico as emblematic of national and indigenous tradition, and by feminists for its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form.

Mexican culture and Amerindian cultural tradition are important in her work, which has been sometimes characterized as Naïve art or folk art. Her work has also been described as "surrealist", and in 1938 André Breton, principal initiator of the surrealist movement, described Kahlo's art as a "ribbon around a bomb".

Kahlo had a volatile marriage with the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. She suffered lifelong health problems. Many of her health problems were the result of a traffic accident she survived as a teenager. Recovering from her injuries isolated her from other people and this isolation influenced her works, many of which are self-portraits of one sort or another. Kahlo suggested, "I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best." She also stated, "I was born a bitch. I was born a painter."

Quotes·Quotations by Frida Kahlo

Arts·Painting

¶ I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.

¶ "The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration."

This quote reflects Frida Kahlo’s commitment to authenticity and self-expression in her art. It’s a powerful statement about the role of personal experience and emotion in the creative process.