Bone Wind Fire

Gr 9 Up—In this visually stunning film, viewers are given a brief glimpse into the lives and art of three 20th-century female artists—Georgia O'Keefe, Emily Carr, and Frida Kahlo—through their own letters and diaries. Each artist spurned the tradition of realism by using painting to capture her own personal experiences. We see O'Keefe walking through the desert, gathering rocks and weathered sections of bone, stating "nothing is less real than realism." Carr wanders through the forests of British Columbia, with its soaring trees and shafts of filtered sunlight, adamant in her belief that "the old way of seeing is inadequate." Kahlo, internally raging against the way her physical limitations have come to define her life, declares "decency and good behavior weary me." These women are courageous in their convictions about their defiant approach to art, yet we hear how they falter when their paintings are subjected to public opinion. The paintings in combination with the artists' thoughts and impressions provide for an intimate portrait of each woman. Students will be intrigued and want to learn even more about these artists.—Cary Frostick, Mary Riley Styles Public Library Falls Church, VA