In order to keep the community members informed of some of the important historical events, artists play a critical role in society. These historical events are typically depicted in various artistic works including sculptures, writings, and even carvings. They also support the peaceful coexistence of all members of society, despite their differences, and so play a crucial role in the advancement of peace between them. However, there have been instances where artists' creative works have been regarded to pose a serious threat to societal values and standards because they convey a sense of immorality. As a result, these artists are rarely acknowledged in the community, and some generations may not be familiar with their work. As this paper demonstrates, some artists – such as Botero and Kahlo – are successive since their works are not only based on the societies’ rich cultural heritage but also they (the artists) depict a lot of creativity, which is used to capture the attention of the community members. Nevertheless, other artists – for instance, Gomez-Pena have are rarely known since they do not exhibit any sense of creativity in their artistic works, hence, the reason why they have even decided to incorporate some sexual scenes in their shows, which is against the societal morals and values.
Biographies of the Artists
Fernando Botero is a Colombian artist who was born and grew up in Medellin. He was born in 1932, and he began being interested in artistic works while he was still a teenager. One of his earlier works was published in a Colombian newspaper – El Colombiano – which motivated him to venture more into the artistic world. Eventually, he shifted to Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, to increase his chances of excelling in the artistic industry. Botero enrolled in the Academia de San Fernando, in Madrid, where he studied arts. Later, he relocated to Paris where he constantly paid a visit to the Louvre to gain insight into the past masters’ artistic works. Later, he went to Florence where he studied Renaissance arts. His breakthrough in arts was in 1958 after being declared as the winner in the Salon de Artistas Colombianos exhibitions, hence, earning him national recognition.
Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico on 6th July 1907. Although she wanted to study medicine, her dreams were cuts short (in 1925) by an accident she was involved in, which made her prefer being an artist (painter). Her major works were on self-portraits that she made for the three months she was immobile due to the paralysis caused by the accident. She once claimed that she designed portraits for herself since she was the only one who could fully understand herself. Out of her 143 artistic works, fifty-five of them are based on her life, which she claimed that they are a symbolic illustration of the realities in her life as she went through a number of challenges such as a breakdown in her marriage, she underwent through various operations and suffered miscarriages. Kahlo’s drew her aspirations from the rich Mexican culture, which was illustrated in the dramatic symbols and bright colors reflected in her paintings. One of the key features in her portraits was the symbol of a monkey, which she used as a protective and tender symbol although according to the Mexican culture, monkeys are deemed as a sign of lust. Therefore, her paintings are greatly recognized for their foundation on the Mexican cultural practices and also because they are deemed as an illustration of the experiences women undergo in the society. Additionally, Kahlo was inspired by Diego Rivera – who was a renowned artist and later became her husband. Rivera kept on encouraging Kahlo to be more dedicated to the artistic industry and even took her to all the places his commissions were received.
The Success of the Artists
Some of the auction houses where these artists’ arts have been sold include Phillips and Christies. For instance, at the Phillips Auction House, Fernando Botero's art on Male Torso with Leaf was estimated to be worth between $ 80000 and $ 120000. However, the art was sold for $250000. Another example of Botero’s art at the Phillips House is the sculpture of a Sitting Woman whose value is estimated to be $300000 to $500000 although it was sold for $274000.
Figure 1: The ‘Male Torso with Leaf’ portrait by Fernando Botero. Available at:
On the other hand, Kahlo’s artistic works have been auctioned in Christies’ Auction House. For example, her painting known as Dos desnudos en el bosque (La tierra misma) was sold for 8005000 dollars.
Figure 2: ‘Dos desnudos en el bosque (Latierra misma) Painting’ by Frida Kahlo. Available at:
One of the major factors that have immensely contributed to the success of these artists is self-reliance, which refers to an individual’s potential of being independent in striving to fulfill his/her aspirations. According to Botero, even though Fernando Botero is a prolific and a talented creator, he works hard in all his projects and does not rely on the help of any assistant to ensure that the art object achieves the required quality standards. Botero is of the opinion that most designers have unable to progress due to the production of sub-standard arts as they depend on other people (their assistants) to come up the preferred sculptures, hence, failing to come up with a product of the preferred aesthetic value. Botero has made 2500 drawings, 350 sculptures, and 4500 paintings without anyone else’s help, which depicts his diligence in the artistic works. As noted earlier, Kahlo had opted to spend time making her self-portraits as she felt that no one else would be in a position to illustrate her as she desired. Little suggests that Kahlo knew that her self-portraits were the only means through which she could demonstrate her feelings and beliefs. It is, hence, evident that these artists knew that they were the only ones who would effectively demonstrate their respective ideas in artistic objects through paintings and not anyone else. As a result, they were in a position to make sure that the portraits and drawings had the aesthetic value, which is desired by the community members, hence, endearing the two creators to them (societal members).
Another factor that has greatly influenced the artists’ success is their passion for art. Even though they used the paintings to earn a livelihood, they always made sure that they came up with quality products, which would enable their fans to see the value of their money. Botero argues that Botero does not take vacations and is always focused on his work, thus, illustrating that he has a passion for it. Unlike most artists, Botero can spend a lot of hours working on his initiatives without showing any signs of exhaustion. Botero claims that observing Botero as he is working is like witnessing a master who derives a lot of enjoyment in his craft works. Kahlo’s passion for paintings emanated from her real-life experiences, hence, the reason why she claimed that ‘I never painted dreams. I paint my own reality’. Therefore, it is paramount to point out that the artists were not lured by the financial benefits in the art industry. Instead, their passion for illustrating some of the key occurrences in their lives or even the historical happenings of the society made them become sculpture designers. Therefore, they have been capable of overcoming some of the challenges they may come across – such as the failure to sell a respective art at the desired price or working for a long time – which would otherwise have demotivated them. An artist should always be enthusiastic about his/her work in order to design paintings and sculptures that would be endeared by most members of the society.
Creativity and aesthetic value of these artist products have also played a crucial role in their success. Botero claims that an artist should have the potential to illustrate the societal values and ideas in his/her artistic works. Besides, the paintings should not resemble those of other designers, which demonstrates the capability of a respective artist to come up with an original idea that he/she intends to demonstrate to the other members of the society. Boreto asserts that an artistic creator should demonstrate uniqueness by illustrating asset of ideas in a distinct style that makes the societal members ponder and reflect on a respective matter. He calls this attribute the ‘test of an orange,’ a case whereby a sculpture designer comes up with a basic form of painting to communicate a given aesthetic philosophy by using it. As noted earlier, Kahlo was greatly influenced by her Mexican culture in her artistic works, which was depicted by her use of Tehuana signs. In addition, together with her husband, they had strong political convictions and cultural beliefs that they depicted in their artworks. A society’s culture is its pride, and its people will always be delighted by anything that showcases their cultural practices all over the world. By doing so, artists can win the favor of their community members, which is a sign of the respective artist’s success.
Nevertheless, Kahlo’s success has also been influenced by the fact that she is a woman. As aforementioned, she encountered a myriad of challenges in her life, which she opted to illustrate through her paintings. Brown points out that Kahlo’s portraits depicted a mixture of emotions, thus, the main reason why she (Kahlo) suggested that she painted everything that swept across her mind. Brown is of the opinion that Kahlo was effective in illustrating her life through her paintings. Hence, it can be rational to believe that Kahlo strived to advocate for the women’s rights by using her self-portraits to demonstrate the hardships they encountered in life.
Even though there are some artists who are renowned in Latin America, there also exist others who are hardly recognized in the society. Nelson claims that the less known artistic creators fail to blend their works with culture, which is an integral characteristic of the Latin American arts. Such artists end up having a single (or very few) artistic objects, which implies that they have no means of winning the support of the societal member, which can be effectively achieved by presenting a variety of sculptures. Besides, this is an illustration of the artists’ lack of passion for their work, hence, the reason why they end up having a few sculptures. One of the less known artists is Guillermo Gomez-Pena, who hails from Chicano. One of the main reasons why the artist has not been successful is his lack of cultural identity. Fusco claims that he and Gomez-Pena once encouraged a challenge a hardship while making a presentation before the Americans as they were not fully aware of the American culture. As a consequence, most Americans believed that the fictional identities proposed by the artists were real. This is a sign of lack of creativity among the artists, hence, the reason why they were incapable of thrilling the audiences. In addition, the artists may have been deemed to be quite provocative since they resolved to have some sex talks at a cost of five dollars while performing at the Edge ’92 Biennial show. The idea of incorporating sexual scenes in the performance also affirms the notion that the artists lack the necessary creativity that is critical in winning the attention of the societal members. Therefore, it is evident, that Gomez-Pena is unlike Kahlo and Botero who show a lot of innovation in their sculptures (or paintings) by incorporating some cultural perspectives.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, artists play a critical duty in the society as they not only remind the community members some of the critical occurrences and enhance the promotion of the societal values. Fernando Botero and Frida Kahlo are some of the renowned artists in the Latin America society. An analysis of the factors behind their success reveals that they are passionate about their work, which is a sign of their determination to come up with quality products. In addition, they do not depend on other people to come up with the desired art objects. Instead, they work hard all through without asking for help from other people to ensure that their sculptures and paintings depict the intended idea, thus, making them unique. Besides, the artists are relatively creative, a factor they derive from several aspects. For instance, Botero suggests that his creativity emerges from the concept of the ‘test of an orange,’ which denotes that every sculpture must have an aesthetic value. On the other hand, Kahlo makes sure that her paintings are grounded on the culture of her Mexican society, thus, the reason why her portraits depict various social aspects such as the Tehuana symbols. However, Kahlo’s success has also been attributed to her capability of giving an overview of some of the challenges – such as heartbreaks and miscarriages – women encounter in the society. Consequently, there also exists some artist – for example, Guillermo Gomez-Pena – who have been unsuccessful in the artistic industry due to lack of creativity, hence, they end up failing to thrill or inspire the community members through their arts. Also, Gomez-Pena has been incorporating some sexual scenes in his works, which is against the societal morals, hence, the reason he has been incapable of winning the attention of the community members.
References
Botero, J. C. (2012). The art of Fernando Botero. Center for Latin American Studies University of California, Berkeley. Available at:
Brown, A. (n.d.). Frida Kahlo: An amazing woman. Available at:
Fusco, C. (1994). The other history of intercultural performance. The Drama Review. Vol. 38(1).
Haynes, A. (n.d.). Frida Kahlo: An artist ‘In Between.’ Identity and Marginality. Available at:
Kahlo, F. (2017). Biography of Frida Kahlo. Available at:
Little, S. (2009). Frida Kahlo’s autobiography: A life of painting. Cross-Sections. Vol. V. Available at:
Muray, N. (2017). A night for educators: Frida Kahlo. Molaa Museum of Latin American Art. Available at:
Nelson, B. (2017). Latin American Art and Architecture.’ Scholastic Inc. Available at: < http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753884> [Accessed Dec. 15, 2015]
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