Harry Ransom CenterThe University of Texas at Austin

News Release — March 5, 2002

Austin Psychiatrist Probes
the Mind of Painter Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo. Self-Portrait with Thorn
Necklace and Hummingbird. 1940.

The Ransom Center, in collaboration with the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, is pleased to welcome Austin psychiatrist Shiree C. Flume, M.D. for a lecture on the psychological aspects of Frida Kahlo's art. One of the most recognizable painters of the twentieth century, Kahlo often depicted physical suffering and emotional loneliness perhaps due to her involvement in a near-fatal accident early in life and her turbulent relationship with the painter Diego Rivera.

Shiree Flume will discuss the concept of "the unconscious," and employs Kahlo's art to illustrate psychological conflicts surrounding the issues of death and sexuality. Dr. Flume has served as Associate Director of Psychiatric Education at Brackenridge Hospital and is currently a private practitioner.

This event is part of the spring series of programs associated with the blockbuster exhibition From Gutenberg to Gone With The Wind: Treasures from the Ransom Center on display at the LBJ Library and Museum through April 30, 2002. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information call 512.471.8944.

"From Gutenberg to Gone With The Wind: Treasures from the Ransom Center" is an exhibition of approximately 175 objects from The University of Texas' Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. The objects selected for the exhibition cover the sweep of time from the Middle Ages to the present day and represent all genres housed at the Center—manuscripts, photographs, art, film, and ephemera. The exhibition gives a broad view of the depth of the Ransom Center's collection. This is the first time in the Center's history that all these treasures have been publicly displayed together. The exhibition is free and open the public daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through April 30, 2002. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum is located at 2313 Red River Street, one block west of I-35 on The University of Texas campus. For more information, call 512.471.8944.