TOW 12 - Frida Kahlo (Gannit Ankori) pt. 1

Photo of Frida Kahlo
By Guillermo Davila

In his biography of Frida Kahlo, an underrated artist whose personal obstacles go unappreciated, Gannit Ankori compiles all the rumors, struggles and milestones of her life into an accurate depiction of her as a person, enlightening and inspiring his readers in the process. Ankori’s most appealing rhetorical device, as his text is informative, would be his didactic tone. Sticking simply to the facts, multiple annotations and citations on the page, Ankori explains the life of Frida Kahlo with nothing but the truth. He’s able to seam together a paragraph of eloquent words and simple without his sentences becoming inconsistent and unsophisticated. The structure of Ankori’s book elevates it to a new level entirely. Each chapter delves into a different segment of Kahlo’s life, not necessarily a specific time period but a period defined by how she defined herself. Quotes from family, friends and lovers, each applicable to the chapter’s era, add to the text’s credibility as these primary sources support Ankori’s interpretation of how Frida defined herself at the time. Ankori goes a step further by analyzing Kahlo’s paintings from various time periods and using those to prove his interpretations. After Frida’s tragic encounter with a tram crash, Ankori interprets that the crash and the traumas and injuries it created “became a defining aspect of her identity” and from that point on she lived “with a great passion for life beyond her sickness” (p. 55). This so far was one of the only points in which Ankori created an emotional appeal that so clearly demonstrated not only his passion towards Frida Kahlo’s life story, but also illustrated Kahlo’s desire to thrive. Much of Kahlo’s life is known to be full of sickness and depression, but Ankori portrays her accident, a defining moment for the future of Kahlo, that sets her up for, and almost in a way foreshadows, her success as an artist.