I watched the biopic “Frida” this afternoon. It was not the first time I’d confronted this woman, or her art, but it was the first time I’ve appreciated both. What struck the most was her obsession with self-portraiture, and the distortions located within.

Here was a woman who made a career over the drama the befell her life, or the expression thereof. Or, as they in the movie, her “agonized poetry on canvas.”

Kahlo reminded me of my youthful obsession with Cindy Sherman, who has also made a career of picturing herself. And although her work is much less personal or intimate (in the sense that it isn’t obviously autobiographical), it is still a compelling use of the self as art-object.

Sherman elaborates her own myth by the roles that she plays. Although fictionalized, she still appears to be sharing some personal secret with the world.

So why all the art history? Well, really I just wanted to talk about myself, Tony, and the art of blogging. Because lately I have felt the need to talk about a lot of things that aren’t necessarily obviously fit for public consumption. (And by “lately” I mean “always”.) However, I still want to talk about them. And so I let Tony do the dirty work. And through Tony I can digest my own happenings by playing them up or toning them down and always embellishing the truth. Because it is all well and good to confess that I ridiculously packed up all of my undergarments last night, not realizing that I would need some to wear to my day-to-day activities (ie work), but it is much better if I can tell a story in which Tony went “commando” to his job and has a series of crazy or embarrassing situations that would cause you to laugh and laugh. Unfortunatly I couldn’t come up with anything this afternoon to pretend so instead I will just confess that I opted to recycle some from yesterday.

But even this isn’t really an accurate depiction of anything, because I’m only typing this so I can publish pictures of some artists I admire and then close with one of my own creation.

It is very rewarding to artistically dissect your life, whether it be words or images. Well, at least that’s what Tony says.