#115 - Notes on Satyajit Ray and Frida Kahlo
Education Coffee is a 2xWeekly Newsletter on People, Ideas and Culture.
Why #LearningStories?
In 2020, I started a podcast called #LearningStories to understand how people acquired a set of skills and knowledge in a creative and innovative manner. In the process I hoped to uncover a new understanding of learning as conceptualized, narrated, and imagined by our guests. I recently completed #50 episodes and you can find the archives here.
I then started writing about the #LearningStories of individuals that have inspired me over time. I know I won’t be able to interview them on my podcast but I can research their lives and try my best to paint a portrait of how they learned and built their careers and lives over time. This a new series I hope to publish and release periodically through this newsletter. You can find other such posts in the archive section of my blog. Here is the learning story of two such individuals in the fields of film making and art. I always wondered what an ideal learning environment would look like for these two individuals?
Satyajit Ray Learning Story
Satyajit Ray (1921 – 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and composer. Ray is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors in the history of cinema. Ray made his directorial debut in 1955 with Pather Panchali. He directed 36 films, comprising 29 feature films, five documentaries, and two short films. This is his learning story.
Curiosity
Satyajit Ray was born in 1921. He was brought up in a household that had a deep interest in world of arts and literature. He studied at the Ballygunge Government High School, Kolkata. He then completed his BA in Economics at the Presidency College, Kolkata. Between 1940 to 1942, he spent three years at Rabindranath Tagore’s Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan. He discovered oriental art here including Indian sculpture, Indian miniature paintings, Japanese woodcuts and Chinese landscapes. The artist, Benode Behari Mukherjee was his art teacher there. He would often go to nearby villages for sketching exercises.
Competence
Satyajit Ray started his career in 1943. He worked as a commercial artist at an advertising agency called, DJ Keymer earning 80 rupees a month. At the same time, Ray started a second job for the Signet Press where he designed book covers and jackets. Ray established himself as a commercial illustrator, becoming a leading Indian typographer and book-jacket designer. He was sent to London for a three month period on a company project. During this three month stay in London, he saw 99 films and developed an interest in Italian neo-realist films. In 1947, he co-founded a film society called the Calcutta Film Society. They viewed films from all around the world during the first five years of the society. He also assisted Jean Renoir on a film project in India. He learned several skills related to film making as a member of this club from 1947 to 1955. He did all this while he managed his responsibilities at two full time jobs.
Creation
Between 1955 to 1991, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films. This included feature films, documentaries and shorts. His made his first film Pather Panchali in 1955. It won several international awards and was part of a series of films he titled the, ‘Apu Trilogy‘ that included Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959). He is celebrated for works including The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963), Charulata (1964), and the Goopy–Bagha trilogy (1969–1992). Ray did the scripting, casting, scoring, and editing for the movie himself. He also designed his own credit titles and publicity material. He also authored several short stories and novels, primarily for young children and teenagers.
Notes and Reference
Satyajit Ray Filmography – https://satyajitray.org/filmography/
Satyajit Ray Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyajit_Ray
Frida Kahlo Learning Story
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (1907 – 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Frida created 200 paintings, drawings and sketches over her lifetime. This is her learning story.
Curiosity
She was born in 1907. In 1922, she enrolled in the National Preparatory High School, which was Mexico’s Premier School. She struggled with illness throughout her life. She contracted polio at the age of 6 and then got into a serious traffic accident at the age of 18. She initially wanted to be a doctor but then shifted to painting to occupy herself during the three month immobolization period after the traffic accident. The Mexican Muralist Diego Riviera was her inspiration from a young age.
Competence
She married Diego Riviera in 1929. By 1930 she was already painting for five years. Between 1930 to 1933 they moved to the US and showcased their work at several exhibitions. Kahlo’s work has themes that were surrealist in nature. She was also inpsired by indigenous Mexican culture and her own life. In 1934 she decided to move back to Mexico and make it her base. From 1934 to 1954, she painted and worked on several paintings and artifacts in her Blue House in Mexico. She was not educated at an art school, but found a way to develop her technical skills and painting approach by working closely with a mentor and experimenting with various styles and themes.
Creation
Frida created 200 paintings, drawings and sketches in her career from 1924 – 1954. You can browse her work on the website – fridakahlo.org. A lot of her artworks were inspired by her life experiences as an artist in Mexico. She produced 143 paintings, 55 of which were self portraits. Some of her well known paintings include, The Self Portrait (1926), Henry Ford Hospital (1932), The Two Fridas (1939) and Self Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940).
Notes and Reference
Frida Kahlo Website – https://www.fridakahlo.org/
Frida Kahlo Artworks – https://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-paintings.jsp
Frida Kahlo Life Timeline – https://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-chronology.jsp
Frida Kahlo Quotes – https://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-quotes.jsp
Frida Kahlo Diaries – https://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-diaries.jsp
Abhishek