Stand Still

Okay, so after the bold street festival things have come to a bit of a stand still. I've been planning and pondering over these paintings and how they will be set out and the only thing holding me back is the photography. At this moment in time I'm wishing I had chosen an easier subject matter. Something that would be constantly there for me to come back to and work from, but no, I do want a challenge. And challenge this is. I've been reading up on each of the paintings I plan to 're-make' so my contemporary works are as true to the originals as possible, however all this planning and pondering has left me with no real creations for myself. I know it's only the second week in but I already feel like I'm falling behind. I have plans for photo shoots starting tomorrow in different locations however right now I think I need to produce some sketches, or reinterpretations from the original images. So off I go... wish me luck!

Bold Street Festival

This Saturday 24th September was the Bold Street Art Festival and the art lids had a fanstastic day, work wise and commercially.

First things first, we have Antonia Jones to thank for the whole thing as she did an amazing job of getting us into Ropewalks Square for the day. Becky set up a table with clay and tools for the children of Liverpool to get involved in as she worked alongside them. Louise worked the longest of all of us doing incredible free portraits for the public. I really liked Anna's lovely silk screen printed labels depicting sections of bold street pinned them to passers by.  Lucy and I worked on a collaborative piece on a large felt covered wooden board. We used some works by Degas as inspiration. I guess you could say we were creating 'remakes' of his work (hehe had to fit that in).

I think what made our work so successful was that we were constantly involving ourselves and communicating with each other about what we wanted next from the painting. In this respect I think we have both impacted on each others practise. I certainly have learned to consider the effect of colours on each other much more.

The Remakes

Over the past few weeks I have been considering which paintings to use as inspiration for the 're-makes'. I have made the decision to reference well known works of art which are easily recognised by their composition or subject. This is because I want my work to have the essence of the original, and to be recognisable to some level. In saying that, they need to be works that can be recreated in a contemporary manner. 

Here are a few pieces I am considering.

'Un bar aux Folies Bergère' Manet

'Young Man At The Window' Gustave Caillebotte

'Luncheon of the Boating Party' Renoir

'Nighthawkes' Edward Hopper

'The Student' Thomas Burke

'The Alforni Portrait' Jan Van Eyck

I have been considering how to change these iconic paintings in a ironic and possibly humerous yet in a tasteful way. Although I will be depending on models to pose in set conditions the trick will be for my work to still appear natural and not contrived.

Plan

I have put a print out of this in my studio space, but just incase you've missed it, and have an interest in my work, here is my basic third year plan.

Pip Preece’s 3rd Year Plan

The contemporary is derived from its traditions, so my work takes the past and creates new meanings and avenues.

By looking into the work of certain past artists I have gained an interest in the concept of their reconstruction of art works in a contemporary manner.

The re -make.

The remake can be any medium in which that said artist believes a previous piece can be reproduced in a contemporary manner. All art is a reaction to an experience, but the re-make is specifically a reaction to an experience of ART.

Paula Rego, Sebastian Schrader and Francis Bacon, whether directly or indirectly, have all produced re-makes. Bacon’s reworking of Velazquez’s ‘Pope Innocent X’ is the most direct. He has continued with the medium of oils, and the essence of the composition and subject is fundamentally the same. However there is a power shift in the contemporary piece. The ideology of spirituality has a stronger presence in Bacon’s work, and thus gives a new contemporary connotation to the work.

Rego’s humorous adaptations of Disney’s Snow White are another example of such re-makes. She has twisted the childlike innocence of the character and used the fairytale only as a thin guise for psycho-sexual intrigue and taboo, giving the story a more mature, sexual edge, through a feminine view point. Her choice to alter the medium from animation to oil paint also shows the transition of the tale from childhood to maturity.

Schrader’s initially classical looking paintings are in fact possibly the most contemporary paintings. He associates his work with an ongoing philosophical-psychological investigation of familiar myths and histories. By referring to art historical motifs and subjects with the gesture of painterly perfection, he reflects on the contemporary role of the artist and painting as well as current issues.

This year my work will take the remake into consideration. Past works will inform my practice and be revised to generate contemporary art with its roots firmly in the traditions of painting. I will be working with the medium of oils, in order to continue the traditions of the originals, and to hold tight the relationship between the two.

My plan for my work is not solid, as I have not yet selected which paintings to take into consideration, however I do have some visions for possible directions.

I will be working from photographic imagery most likely posed in set conditions utilising people I am familiar with, but will also use news photography as a reference where required. My work will make statements about contemporary society with a humorous undertone.

At this stage I do not see any need to focus on the work of a single artist, but plan to use several familiar pieces of art as inspiration. In that way my work will have an instant impact, rather than alienating viewers by forcing jargon on them. It is my strong belief that art should initially be visually initially, and then the option of further research and information should be a secondary element.  

Art Lids

I feel so excited after yesterdays meeting with the Art Lids. I don’t know what to say! It was great to buzz ideas round and to find out everyone’s plans. I’m really looking forward to producing a mural with Rose and Lucy at the Bold Street Art  Festival on the 24^th September. Antonia has even managed to organize us a shop this November in Clayton Square. The theme will be ‘Alice in Wonderland’ which is a very exciting prospect, and I can’t wait to get started on some work for that!

I have volunteered to be the publications organizer, and so I have been working on finalizing our logo and brochure. Here are two examples of logos which have been put forward to the Art Lids group.

The Art Lids Group is something that is really pushing us to improve ourselves as commercial artists, allowing us to exhibit, advertise and sell our work together, and I am really enjoying working with such a great group of enthusiastic people and friends.

ROYAL ACADEMY- Summer Exhibition

As much as I have read about and talked about it, I have never had the chance to visit the Royal Academy during the Summer Exhibition season before. So it was with much excitement that last week I finally got the chance to go.

And was I disappointed?... pfffftt NO! It was a fabulous experience!!! The rule ‘art is always better in real life’ is even more true when considered with an exhibition that relies so heavily on its curation. I’m not saying that the work wouldn’t work on its own, of course it would, but when all the works were combined in a room, wow! JUST WOW! The summer exhibition is a truly unique phenomenon, whereby art, curator and curation and the work of established, unknown and emerging artists really can interlock successfully.

The first room, Wohl Central Hall we were immediately met by a large Cindy Sherman piece ‘Untitled # 472’, Martain Creed’s ‘Work no.998’ and Garry Fabian Miller’s ‘Cobolt (IV)’.  So even from the first room there was a wide variety of media, techniques and styles.

I am never one to say ‘I don’t like a piece of art’. I try to understand what it is about first. Contemporary art often needs a bit of reading up on afterwards, and Miller’s digital C-type print ‘Cobalt (IV)’ was one of those works.  He has specialized in producing ‘camera-less’ photographs the 1980’s. He works in the darkroom, shining light through coloured glass vessels and over cut-paper shapes to create forms that record directly onto photographic paper. This gives his work a very unique quality. The large print was reminiscent of Rothko’s abstract works, however the medium gave it a much flatter plasma-screen appearance.  

Christopher Le Brun said, ‘there are two ways of showing paintings, and one is the classic orthodox hang with lots of space around every single piece. But here it’s like a battle of the paintings – forty big pictures on one wall alone!’. And yes, the variety of works in the exhibition was immense. The combination of famous and up and coming artists was very unusual but effective. I must say how honoured I felt to see the work of one of my idols, Jenny Saville. I always knew that Saville’s canvases had to be seen first hand because her painterly technique is so important to her and so it was great to be able to get close and inspect each brush stroke, which was beautifully precise yet fluid.

I could write so much more about the summer exhibition. It was a fantastic chance to become aware of new artists, and I certainly have a long list of them to inspire me.

Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show 2011

When visiting Edinburgh in June, I took up the opportunity to visit the ECA Degree Show. And my goodness was I impressed!!

Although my main interest was the Fine Art Department, Animation has always been of interest to me and so I had a good look around their department too. It was a real treat to watch ECA student Paul Rice’s advanced CGI animation ‘Let Me Come In’ which just so happened to be nominated for the Edinburgh International Film Festival also. The twisted version of the fairytale ‘Three Little Pigs’, although disturbing was very captivating. I particularly enjoyed Will Anderson’s humorous yet more traditional animation ‘The Remaking of the Longbird’ and have been following his website www.whiterobot.com and other animations ever since.

There was much to be seen in the Fine Art Department, what, with it being the Degree and MFA shows at the same time, and I found it a very enlightening and really inspiring experience.

Of course if you know me at all you know that I love to see where contemporary painting is going.  The ECA show was no exception. I loved it! There were many students both post-grad and masters practising painting.

I absolutely fell in love with the exquisite paintings and photography by Anna Bernard. She made use of the natural colours of the wood, which she painted onto, and complemented them with her own colours beautifully. This also happened to link into the subject of her paintings. When speaking to her she told me that the wooden barn she had painted was her own at the parents home. Her work explores the comfort of her country farm home now that she lives in the inner city.

Kari Adams’ series of paintings really caught my attention. She sees herself as an ‘artist who appropriates ‘things’ and products- taking them from their convivial structure, rearranging their anatomy.’ To place meaning within the new form. Her innovative use of combining canvases and using them in an unconventional manner really pushed forward her aim to create new forms and images with discordant texts.  

The inventive style of drawing by Thomas Adam was really interesting too. Although the pieces where essentially 2 dimensional their placement around the room, occasionally with props made them work on a sculptural level. I found this quite fascinating.

Don’t get me wrong though. It wasn’t just the painting and drawing that interested me. Fiona Crozier’s work was ‘a series of events in which the viewer was not invited to watch.’ It consisted of earwigs trapped in glass fronted boxes and meat knives. The work had a powerful and shocking effect which pin pointed the irony, fragility and transience of life. She summed up her work with a simple quote ‘Bodies are only empty vessels, ain’t nothing in them. I’m not doing anything wrong.’ Ed Gien 1906- 1984.

Clare Flatley’s work develops processes of solidifying distortions and reflections of objects familiar to us, giving them an alternative, opposite existence. This piece creates a passing point, a self contained gateway, that provides an immersive experience for the viewer but that doesn’t physical lead to a different space, or alter the space around it.

Another aspect which added to the professionalism of the students’ work, is that the majority had personal statements, business cards and even had designed their own websites and online galleries. I would really like to be able to achieve this by next year too.

Every aspect of this degree show was exceptional! The work spoke for itself, and the students excelled!  

Liverpool John Moores Graduate Show 2011

 Well Mr Blog, it’s been a while. I’ve been off gallivanting round the country enjoying being a student on holiday (and looking at lots of art exhibitions of course) and now that I am back I think it’s time for me to stop neglecting you. We’ll have to do some back tracking first I’m afraid though, before I forget everything that I must tell you…

I think I will begin back in May, with the Liverpool John Moores Graduate Show, which definitely gave me food for thought. There was a wide variety of work in different media; sculpture, installation, films. There was also the special honour of  having the help of Lorenzo Fusi (curator of the Liverpool Biennial 2011) to curate the exhibition.

The evening of the exhibition was buzzing. It was fantastic to see so many people taking an interest in the show! And the new arrangement of the Fine Art Studio really worked to give each piece its own viewing space. Fusi clearly had a lot of input in the development of the works and created a very simplistic and effective floor plan. My only criticism would be that the lack of labelling of the works and rule against business cards, may have been detrimental to the main purpose of the graduate show. In my opinion it should have been an opportunity for people to discover new upcoming artists from Liverpool. A graduate show is not only the marking of the end of a university course, but also a spring board to the new level of professionalism. As a JMU student myself, even I had difficulty deciphering whose work was whose. On later conversations, I discovered that this was a fear of some of the students, and yet it was missed. On a very serious note, as a student next year I hope to be very much involved with the show, and feel that this lesson needs to be learned by myself and by others in this upcoming year.

On saying this I otherwise felt optimistic about the growth of the John Moores Art Department. The multitude of work sited in all areas of the building was inspiring.  From the Fashion Studios, to Interior Design and Fine Art, there was something to evoke a feeling of pride and excitement in all the people who visited.  

On entering the Fine Art room visitors were instantly confronted by a collection of CCTV cameras and the sight of themselves on a screen. This gave the viewer a feeling of invasion or intrusion of their personal space, an uneasy impression of ‘Big Brother’.

A sculptural piece I particularly admired was a group of drawers, each filled with new and old make-up each with a description such as, ‘imperfect’, ‘used’, ‘salvaged’, which can, in turn be used as a metaphor to describe the women who have used such products. More pressure on women again? Still going to wear my make-up tomorrow though.

The interactive wall, where visitors were encouraged to write their feelings was predictable, as per Renshaw Street. It is all too easy for people to use this vehicle of expression for cheap comments and not in a serious, artistic context.

I must mention that, as a painter, I was disappointed by the lack of paintings in this particular show. I often worry to myself that painting becomes overlooked as a contemporary art form with the arrival of such technologically advanced media. But there is plenty of time to discuss this in a later blog.

The Blog About Blogging

In the days before the blog I used to keep notes, newspaper articles and web addresses in sketchbooks, which would often end up being forgotten about at the end of each project. The blog is a tool that has allowed me  to multi-task, gather thoughts and look back on things easily.

I will admit, at the beginning of the year I thought the idea of writing a blog regularly might begin to be a chore and another aspect of life  to disjoint my work, however I've found that it allows me to record, reflect and revise my own work and the work of others in a professional manner. I guess I should just admit that I've got the blog feeeva!

I have used the blog in a number of ways...

• To question and move forward my own practice.

• To review how other artists develop their own practice. How this affects their work. How I can move my own work forward.

• To reflect on exhibitions of others, such as the biennial, student exhibitions, other exhibitions I have attended.

• To encourage fellow students and congratulate them on their work.

• To blog about my professional progression and exhibitions.

• To gather and hold information about artists of interest  to look back on in the future.

• To present my thoughts to others.

• To articulate my opinions and act as a catalyst for ideas and brainstorming.

I have also really enjoyed the blogging community. I follow a number of other young artists' blogs and it is incredible the amount of information that this small group produces. In my view it is important for creatives to communicate, possibly even more so after university and so I plan to continue blogging next year and certainly after life at LJMU ... (but I don't want to talk about that right now because the thought upsets me.)

Wolstenholme (15th – 16th March 2011)

It has been a few weeks since the Re:Action exhibition at Wolstenholme by Anna Mulhearn, Dave Whiteley and Catherine Rockwood but I wanted to take a minute to look back on it. 


I've never been to an exhibition in a gallery space dedicated to performance pieces. Normally I just seem to come across them in the public eye. But by having three performances in the same gallery it created a really buzzing, social atmosphere. 


The first exhibit I was introduced to was Dave Whiteley's 'Relational Aesthetics'. He and another performed an endurance piece across a long dinner table, staring at one another whilst chewing gum. As the night went on, wine glasses were filled with excess saliva from this process. I found it quite a difficult piece to watch, as I not only felt that I was intruding on a private moment but also the act of spitting into the glasses made me feel uneasy. Perhaps this was to express a strained relationship and the awkwardness of the meal. I feel that this feeling of unease, and the format in which it was produced, made it a very powerful and engaging piece of work.


Next I viewed Catherine Rockwood's film and performance 'Modern Sexism'. The film was an updated version of Judy Chicago's 'Cock and Cunt' play. In Rockwood's adaptation there is a male playing the role of Cock. Both Cock and Cunt wear make up, which is said to represent the mask of the modern woman, and and tights over their heads which symbolise the new restraints and pressures placed on modern women. Along side this Rockwood repeatedly applied and removed makeup enforcing the ideas of pressures on women from the media. I really enjoyed this piece as we had been attending the same tutorials, so I had the chance to see her work develop throughout the year. Although her work had a humorous undertone, the reality of modern sexism really rang home when I was faced with the piece as a whole. 


Last, but not least was the 'Forged Histories' performance by Anna Mulhearn. Again I had been lucky enough to see Mulhearn's complex piece develop throughout the year, and was thrilled to see the final piece. The setup reminded me of a theatre performance, with angled lighting and Anna placed in an armchair, forging documents. On a plinth at the side of the room was a photo album belonging to the family Anna had been researching intensely, which Anna had cleverly edited herself into. Muhearn had also managed to forge herself into a short film of a family holiday. I think the combination of all these aspects made the piece so believable. I wonder what the reaction of the family would be? Maybe one day we will find out. 


The exhibition ended at the bar and curry stand... What more could you want from an exhibition!? It really extended the idea of social activity and art coinciding and completed the exhibition in a very pleasant and complementary way. Thumbs up!

BP portrait runners up

Something I have enjoyed using the blog for recently is as a kind of scrap book. It is a really useful compact tool which allows me to just look back on previous thoughts and inspirations.


So here we go again. As many of you will know I absolutely adoooore talking about all the news on the BP Portrait Award, and this year is no different. I feel a real change happening in the air. I'm so excited that art seems to be growing up and forgetting all this adolescent SHOCK ... (for want of a better word) crap. Just take a look at this years' shortlisted portraits.

'Just to Feel Normal'
by Ian Cumberland

'Holly'
by Louis Smith with help from Carmel Said

'Mrs Cerna'
by Sertan Saltan

'Distracted'
by Wim Heldens

The shortlisted paintings this year are so different from last years winner 'Last portrait of Mother' by Daphne Todd, which definitely had the shock factor. The portrait was of Todd's mother at the undertakers. Although it was meant to be unsettling, I found it was disrespectful and contrary to the notions of traditional portraiture. I am much more fond of the likes of 'Holly' by Louis Smith for its powerful lighting and exquisite painting. When I compare it to the work of other current contemporary artists such as Sebastian Schrader and Neo Rauch, I notice they all have similar roots within traditional, religious paintings.

In saying that I do feel that 'Holly' is moving away from the genre of portraiture and wonder, even although it is my personal favourite, whether it is the deserved winner of this award. The other shortlisted artists have produced much more simple compositions. I really couldn't predict who will win, but I am looking forward to finding out. I will certainly be making time to visit the National Portrait Gallery when I visit London in July.

Printing Exhibition

I have been meaning to talk to Neil about the 'Global Echo' exhibition for a quite some time now, so today I gathered together a few of my prints and plates to show him, in the hope that I might be able to join in too. 

I was so pleased when Neil said I could take part! I will be making ten prints which will be exhibited in several places in England, Edinburgh, Canada and Perth in Austraillia! HOW EXCITING IS THAT!?!?!?!?! I have the paper made to the right size and the jig made so that each print will be the same. So tomorrow I will begin printing! :D

A previous etching of the liverpool skyline.

The etching for the exhibition

Turps Banana

A few months ago I began my subscription to Turps Banana, a magazine dedicated solely to contemporary painting. It is full of images and interviews with artists and up and coming artists.

The work of Andy Harper stood out to me because of his use of illuminated acrylic spheres. He is pushing the boundaries of painting by making use of unusual materials to paint onto. There is a very organic quality to his work.

'An Orrey For Other Worlds'
Andy Harper

I was considering experimenting with back-lighting over the summer. Painting on windows might be interesting...

Andrew Lloyd Webber

I have been watching the Perspectives documentaries on Sundays for a few weeks now. I was especially interested to watch the 'Andrew Lloyd Webber: A Passion for the Pre-Raphaelites' programme. Not only for the fact that I adore the Pre-Raphaelites, but also because I was intrigued to find out why of all people Andrew Lloyd Webber would be presenting it. (I know, I know ... I'm supposed to talk about art on here. I'll get to that in a moment.)


I didn't realise that he had such a passion for this period of art. He owns several pieces, one of them being 'Persephone'. It was so interesting to hear what he had to say about the piece. This painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1874 depicts the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, who was abducted by Hades. She could only escape the underworld if she refused to eat all the fruit surrounding her. Unfortunately she had already been tricked by Hades to eat six seeds of a pomegranate and so had to return to the underworld for six months of every year. When she returned to her mother Demeter (goddess of the earth) the land flourished, however when she returned to the underworld Demeter's grief caused the earth to become cold and die.


The painting itself is, in my opinion exquisite. And the story of Rossetti's obsession with this particular model was just as fascinating to me as the myth of Persephone. Jane Morris was the wife of another of the Pre-Raphaelites William Morris. Rossetti painted her obsessively. Like Persephone Jane Morris split her time with William Morris and Rossetti. Rossetti has idealized Jane Morris a great deal; her neck has been elongated, as have her fingers to make her appear even more elegant. 

'Persephone' - Rossetti

And what would a programme about the Pre-Raphaelites be with out mentioning my favorite (and almost everyone else's) 'The Lady of Shallot' by William Waterhouse. I can't wait to see this in the summer!

'The Lady Of Shallot' William Waterhouse

The programme was really informative about the lives of the Pre-Raphaelites and their work. One thing I never knew was that William Holman Hunt produced 'The Awakening Conscience' and 'The Light of The World' with the intention that they would be exhibited side by side. When you really think about it, it makes sense. The compositions flow from one to the other when seen in this format. They both have a strong morality. Although these morals differ they have a religious theme. It is a shame that they are no longer exhibited together. 'The Awakening Conscience' is in the Tate collection, so I will definately be visiting when I go to London this summer. 

'The Awakening Conscience'-
 William Holman Hunt 

'The Light Of The World' -
 William Holman Hunt

Sebastian Schrader

On the trip to Berlin I came across the work of an incredible artist Sebastian Schrader. And then again in the book 'The Upset'. So I have dedicated an entire post just to him.

...Beacause I love him...

The subjects of his paintings appear to be portrayed as icons similar to historical, mythical art. However the subjects are made more contemporary by the showing of their flaws and worship of artefacts such as alcohol. The unsusual contexts in which we see the figures show up to date issues in a humorous yet classical manner. UTTER GENIUS!

Final Assessment

Its hard to believe that over a week has passed since my assessment!

I spent the week after the exhibition at Curve preparing for it. I gathered all the paper work, documentation and communication, along with relevant blog posts into an A4 file. I also ordered a hard back book documenting the development of my work and the exhibitions, however even although it was ordered a week in advance for next day delivery it took two weeks to arrive, so I have only just got it now. I must admit, I was most disappointed with this, as the book looked so professional and I felt that I would have presented the work and exhibitions better. Instead I made a copy of the book onto A4 paper. It didn't look anywhere near as professional, and it was pixelated (I assume the company does this to discourage people for making books and not paying).

Buuut you can see this book at...
http://www.photobox.co.uk/creation/746824547


To illustrate the development of my paintings I made a short animation, with a short film of my studio/ garage at the beginning.

(still to be uploaded)

I was initially quite nervous about having to talk for 20 mins about my work, but when it actually came to it I actually really enjoyed it. And I probably would have stayed a bit longer if I could. I think this year has really pushed me personally and artistically, and that I have learnt alot about working with galleries.
I feel so happy working in this kind of environment now, and I hope that after LJMU I will continue to keep this up.

Artists from 'The Upset'

Here are a few artists I came across whilst flicking through 'The Upset', a book documenting the work of contemporary painters and illustrators which I would thoroughly recommend.

There are many more artists in the book, but here are a few of my favourites that I wanted to share with you.

Mark Ryden 'The Apology'

Ray Caesar

Neo Rauch 'Jagdzimmer' / 'Hunters room'

MartinEder 'Nacht'

David Kassan

Brendan Monroe ' When Things Get Out Of Hand'

Ayo Kayto

Anne Faith Nicholls 'Three Sides To The Story' 1997

John Currin 'The Cripple' 1997

I really feel so happy after seeing the work of these contemporary painters. For so long I have feared that realism has gone out of date and that the path I wish to follow one day was not leading anywhere. The connection between films, books and art seems so strong at the moment. There seems to be a lot of fantasy and darkness in the arts. A few also have quite a religious quality to them. If anything seeing these works just makes me want to paint more for myself. I've got two possible commissions over the summer and several ideas for things I want to research and paint.

I also wanted to include this sculpture by Ron Mueck for its incredible realistic qualities. I saw it a few months ago at the DLA Piper series exhibition at Tate Liverpool. It is much more powerful to see it first hand for the sheer scale of the figure.

Ron Mueck 'Ghost' 1998

Happy Cinco De Mayo

What better day to mention the work of Frida Kahlo's than Cinco de Mayo? As an art student pursuing portraiture it would be a sin not to acknowledge such a prolific contemporary portrait artist. 

I think what drew me to her work originally was the strength she shows within her paintings both as a female and a female artist, combined with the underlying story of her fascinating, yet tragic life. A painting which shows this tragedy in a particular poignant way is 'Broken Column'. It shows her constant struggle with pain and invasive operations. Her nakedness could indicate her vulnerability and inability to change her situation. The metal banding round her body works as a surreal brace to stabilise her disjointed body in reality but also her life metaphorically. Even the background is symbolic to her life as she stands alone. As this painting is about her physical and emotional pain it could allude to her struggle to deal with these issues alone. The dark patches in the barren landscape could allude to the dark aspects of her life. 

Frida Kahlo 'Broken Column' 1944

The other day I watched the film 'Frida' by Julie Taymor. It is a fascinating film documenting Kahlo's life and works. For someone who wants to understand the connections between the two, it really helps put her paintings into context as well as giving a good insight into the Mexican culture.