
The Branding of Frida Kahlo - prismatic
https://newrepublic.com/article/153236/branding-frida-kahlo-brooklyn-museum-exhibit-review
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HillRat
I recently killed an afternoon in Miami by visiting Calle Ocho in Little
Havana and was bemused by the vast number of Kahlo portraits in the local
shops and galleries, given that she was (A) Mexican, not Cuban; and (B) only
stopped from enthusiastically supporting Castro’s revolution by dint of dying
a few years before it happened. Frida Kahlo juxtaposed with anti-Communist
messaging makes for an unusual historical combination.

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stcredzero
Is it just me, or is all high art success largely about branding?

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Pharmakon
It’s definitely not just you. Look at someone like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel
Basquiat, Banksy, and Damien Hirst. It’s about acting a part, branding,
connections, and in some ideal cases talent and originality can even play a
role.

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rangersanger
Warhol and Hirst's work were both commentaries on this. As were Christo and
Jeanne-Claude's, though theirs focused a little more on the role the "self."

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Pharmakon
I mean, they’re commentaries that also just happen to make them spectacularly
wealthy.

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B1FF_PSUVM
I find it amusing that branding, formerly reserved for cattle, is so
enthusiastically embraced by the people upon whom it is pushed.

"Oh, yes, I'd love to wear someone else's initials or sigil!"

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Broken_Hippo
I'm not sure when it was reserved for cattle, even if it has changed forms
over the years. Of course, during some points in time, your clothing choices
were limited by law - but even within that, there were brands. Usually modeled
by royalty or politicians or other famous folks were wearing.

