Otherness is a concept helps to highlight how communities create a sense of identity, belonging and social status through the construction of social categories. The notion of otherness is also used to break down the resources and ideologies that are used by groups in maintaining their social identities. In the society, the creation of the other involves the application of the principle that allows the classification of individuals into hierarchical groups comprising of them and us. One of the groups sets one or more others while setting itself apart and assigning itself an identity. The dominant group is the one that imposes the value of its identity and uses its position to devalue the identity of others by imposing discriminatory measures using its position. Race and gender are some of the issues that can be used to highlight othering in society. An analysis of La Venadita by Frita Kahlo seeks to interpret how the piece speaks the idea of the other to its intended audience.
La Venadita (Little Deer)- Frita Kahlo
La Venadita is a painting Frita Kahlo made in which she paints herself as a human and animal hybrid. In this artwork, she has her regular face and human hair but with the body of a deer complete with antlers that extend from her head. The total number of endpoints of the antlers is nine. Her head and neck are upright which indicates her alertness, but a pair of deer ears can be seen emerging from behind her ears (Kahlo). The deer is painted standing up with its legs standing in action, and this is portrayed by the right leg which seems to be in motion or injured due to the way it is elevated from the ground. Nine arrows can be seen piercing and sticking on the deer’s body creating wounds which are bleeding. Despite having visible injuries, Kahlo is facing the viewers stoically with her face staring at them and showing no or little amount of pain.
The deer is alone in a forest clearing where nine trees can be seen on its right side and three trees on the left with a broken branch lying on the foreground. The foliage of the trees is not visible in the painting, and only tree trunks are visible to the viewers. However, one of the branches is severed, and it is lying on the ground by the left side of the deer. In this painting, the artist has given prominence to the broken branch that is lying on the ground giving it more details than all the floor of the forest (Kahlo). At the far end of the trees on the right hand and the left, a water body is visible as well as a bright sky with white clouds from which lightning emerges striking the waters. The deer is rendered in brown, gray and green tones with measures of blue and red. Moreover, the words ‘Carma’ is visibly written on the left bottom of the painting just after the year of creation and the artist’s signature.
In all societies, there is a set of acceptable conduct that members are expected to comply with them. Individuals living in the margins include those lacking social power or those residing outside the socially accepted norms. La Venadita is a painting that highlights the element of othering in the society especially of individuals considered to be in the margins. “The photographer’s way of seeing is reflected in his choice of subject…every image embodies a way of seeing…” (Berger 4). In portraying the idea of the other, the artist has used the painting to show how she is living in the margins of the society. Being in the forest alone and wounded is an indication that the deer represents an individual who is hurting, but is isolated with no one to offer help. The wounded deer has been used to portray social identities in the society which represent the established social order where certain groups are superior to the others. It represents the weak in the community who are prone to be hurt by the powerful just like the deer is subject to being hunted and shot with arrows.
The notion of the other is used to assign identities to individuals in society leading to the creation of a sense of belonging and social status. An inherent unequal relationship between men and women is evident, and it shapes the way people socialize. “But the essential way of seeing women, the essential use to which their images are put, has not changed” (Berger, 27). The deer is representing Kahlo and other women who were viewed differently by the other members of the society. The wounded deer seems stuck in a forest with no food or anyone to offer help and the only option left is to remain calm and strong. The arrow wounds show how women in society are vulnerable and get hurt but have to pretend to be strong despite having hurting wounds. The physical pain and depression she was suffering are expressed in the painting to show the disappointment she and other women go through in the society.
Painters paint what is before them in reality or either in their imagination. “One of the pleasures of painting gave to its owner was the thought that it would convey the image of his present to the future of his descendants” (Berger, 52). In this painting, Kahlo paints a deer with her face and antlers as a way of depicting her sexuality as a bisexual. The artwork is used to bring out the element of otherness by highlighting the presence of bisexuals in the society even though the community at this time was yet to understand and accept them. It is meant to appeal to individuals who feel different and may be unable to express their sexuality for fear of being different from others in society. Moreover, it is used to depict their efforts in gaining recognition by other members of the community.
Conclusively, it is evident that paintings play a crucial role in relaying messages in society. The notion of otherness has been in community and has been used to classify individuals into hierarchy groups. The dominant groups are responsible for imposing the value of its identity on others whom they consider the other. La Venadita is a painting by Kahlo that is used to portray the notion of otherness in the society. The painter uses the portrait of a deer to depict the issue she and other women in the community were going through at the time. It has been used to highlight othering that occurs in society.
Works Cited
Berger, John, and Michael Dibb. Ways of Seeing. BBC, 2009.
Kahlo, Frita. La Venadita (Little Deer). Museum Of Modern Art, San Francisco, 1946
