Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In 1920s Paris, Kiki de Montparnasse captivated as a nightclub performer, wrote a best-selling memoir featuring an introduction by Ernest Hemingway, sold out a gallery debut of her paintings, and shared drinks with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Peggy Guggenheim, and Marcel Duchamp. But if she's remembered today, it is for posing for and inspiring many great artists--especially Man Ray, with whom she created several of the iconic images that made his reputation as a groundbreaking American photographer.
So why has Man Ray's legacy endured while Kiki has been relegated to a footnote? By charting their decade-long entanglement--professional and romantic--Mark Braude illuminates for the first time Kiki's seminal influence on the culture of 1920s Paris and beyond. Following the couple as they created art, struggled for power, and competed for fame, Kiki Man Ray challenges ideas about artists and muses, and the lines separating the two.
Synopsis
In the freewheeling world of 1920s Paris, Kiki de Montparnasse captivated as a nightclub performer, sold out the debut exhibition of her paintings, starred in Surrealist films, and shared drinks and ideas with the likes of Jean Cocteau, Marcel Duchamp, and Peggy Guggenheim. Her best-selling memoir--featuring an introduction by Ernest Hemingway--made front-page news in France and was immediately banned in America. All before she turned thirty.
In her time, Kiki was the shining symbol of bohemian Paris. But if she is remembered today, it is only for posing for several now-celebrated male artists, including Amedeo Modigliani and Alexander Calder, but especially for American photographer Man Ray. Why has Man Ray's legacy endured while Kiki has become a footnote?
Kiki and Man Ray met in 1921 during a chance encounter at a caf . What followed was an explosive decade-long connection, both professional and romantic, during which the couple grew and experimented as artists, competed for fame, and created many of the shocking images that cemented Man Ray's reputation as one of the great artists of the modern era. The works they made together, including the Surrealist icons Le Violon d'Ingres and Noire et blanche, now sell for millions at record-setting auctions.
Charting their volatile relationship, award-winning historian Mark Braude illuminates for the first time Kiki's seminal influence not only on Man Ray's art, but on the culture of 1920s Paris and beyond. Provocative, intimate, and as magnetically irresistible as Kiki herself, Kiki Man Ray is the story of an exceptional life that will challenge ideas about artists and muses--and the lines separating the two.