College Night at LACMA

Complete with a mashed potato bar and everything, College Night at LACMA was an experience like no other! I had never seen so many students my age so excited about a trip to the museum. Our night revolved around the exhibit titled 'In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States.' Not only did I get to see works by one of my favorite artists, Frida Kahlo, but I also found a new favorite. As I walked through the exhibit, there were some similarities in certain paintings and I found myself drawn to a certain style. When I took the time to read who the artists of my favorite pieces were, the name Rosa Rolanda came across many times. My most favorite painting of the night was Autorretrato (Self-portrait) by Rosa Rolanda. She painted it in 1952 and used oil paint on canvas. I was intrigued by the various examples of symbolism in the painting. Rolanda finds herself in turmoil, like in real life after the end of her marriage to the artist Miguel Covarrubias. In the background there are images of skeletons, dancers, and body parts spewing out of a volcano. Many images represent the Mexico City dance company that Covarrubias directed where he met his second wife. This piece is meant to portray a feeling of chaos but Rolanda also does a great job of showing her allegiance to Mexico through the use of vibrant reds and greens in the foreground. Overall, College Night was an eye-opening experience as I got to see less well-known women artists' work, which proved comparable to famous artists' work like Kahlo's.