Kiki Man Ray: Art, Love, and Rivalry in 1920s Paris
- Downloads：2792
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-29 17:21:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mark Braude
- ISBN：1324006013
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Yasmin
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This novel entailed an incredibly deep and detailed insight into two influential artists of the 1920’s Paris。 Braude entails every moment in their lives that would eventually transform their career and their future relationships。 This book mainly focuses on Kiki’s massively growing success after laying out the foundations of Alice’s （Kiki） childhood and her struggle out of poverty， an abusive relationship and depression。 Kiki’s story is a fascinating one， to come from such depths of poverty to b This novel entailed an incredibly deep and detailed insight into two influential artists of the 1920’s Paris。 Braude entails every moment in their lives that would eventually transform their career and their future relationships。 This book mainly focuses on Kiki’s massively growing success after laying out the foundations of Alice’s （Kiki） childhood and her struggle out of poverty， an abusive relationship and depression。 Kiki’s story is a fascinating one， to come from such depths of poverty to becoming one of the most sought out model and singer in Paris- the Queen of Montparnasse who transformed art。 She was the “woman to capture the spirit of their age like no one else， and by doing nothing more that making a performance of herself”。 Switching from Kiki， throughout， we also learn about Emmanuel （Man Ray） and his journey as an artist who travelled the Atlantic Ocean to find inspiration and his messy but crucial relationship with Kiki as well as himself。 Man Ray played a significant role in surrealism and transformed photography， he was “so in love with destruction， because destruction brought hope”。 As a reader who has been wanting to delve into non fiction， I found this easy to follow and to understand， the story was so rich with detail and Braude’s storytelling kept it intriguing and insightful。 The 1920’s Parisian art movement is an extremely fascinating topic， mixing it with a woman as unique as Kiki and a turbulent relationship really transformed everything。 I really enjoyed reading about the social change， the effects of the first world war and the impact they made onto the French art movements of cubism and surrealism。 Kiki is an icon and Braude portrays that perfectly。 It was incredible to read about the what， why， who and the where of every situation alongside the analysis of the reactions and emotions of their peers。 I grew to really admire a woman that I had previously little knowledge of。 I recommend this to anyone who are interested in back story of art & fashion icons and who are eager to learn about the artists who transform surrealism in a whole new medium。Many thanks to Netgalley and John Murray Press for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Robert
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I'd seen pictures of Kiki of Montparnasse - singer， painter， muse to Man Ray and others - hundreds of times but knew nothing about the extraordinary woman they displayed Mark Braude's biography is a intoxicating trip through Paris in the 20s where Kiki was dubbed the Queen of Montparnasse and rubbed shoulders with likes of Modigliani， Djuna Barnes， Andre Breton， Marcel Duchamp and Sergei Eisenstein。 I'd seen pictures of Kiki of Montparnasse - singer， painter， muse to Man Ray and others - hundreds of times but knew nothing about the extraordinary woman they displayed Mark Braude's biography is a intoxicating trip through Paris in the 20s where Kiki was dubbed the Queen of Montparnasse and rubbed shoulders with likes of Modigliani， Djuna Barnes， Andre Breton， Marcel Duchamp and Sergei Eisenstein。 。。。more
Alwynne
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An exploration of the intertwining lives of photographer Man Ray （aka Emmanuel Radnitsky） and the model， muse， and eventual artist， memoirist and performer， known as Kiki of Montparnasse （aka Alice Prin）。 Kiki and Man Ray’s intimate relationship resulted in a series of ground-breaking， now-famous images。 Mark Braude opens with an account of Kiki’s origins， born in 1901， Kiki came from a dirt-poor background， working from the age of 12 to support her mother。 Braude’s Kiki is irrepressible， kicked An exploration of the intertwining lives of photographer Man Ray （aka Emmanuel Radnitsky） and the model， muse， and eventual artist， memoirist and performer， known as Kiki of Montparnasse （aka Alice Prin）。 Kiki and Man Ray’s intimate relationship resulted in a series of ground-breaking， now-famous images。 Mark Braude opens with an account of Kiki’s origins， born in 1901， Kiki came from a dirt-poor background， working from the age of 12 to support her mother。 Braude’s Kiki is irrepressible， kicked out on the streets by her mother she quickly became skilled at surviving on very little， sometimes sleeping rough or on friends’ sofas， flashing her breasts for a few coins if she desperately needed cash。 By chance she ended up posing for a painter， and found that life as a model suited far better than the hard-graft conventional jobs she’d scraped into in the past。 Kiki became an iconic figure in the growing artistic community of Montparnasse on Paris’s Left Bank。 Painters， sculptors， writers flocked to the area drawn by the cheap rents and plentiful accommodation。 During Montparnasse’s Années folles or Paris’s equivalent of the roaring twenties， Kiki finally began to flourish。 Her circle of artist clients grew， and she formed friendships with the local Dadaists and Surrealists， although she couldn’t tell them apart， until she was a fixture in Montparnasse’s thriving café culture。 In 1921 she met Man Ray who’d arrived in France from America。 Braude provides an overview of Man Ray’s early life and career in America building up to his encounter with Kiki。 Man Ray came from Brooklyn via Pennsylvania， his parents were Russian Jews， and his arrival in 1890 marked the beginning of their family。 He became fascinated with the Dadaists and avant-garde art， partly through his marriage to Belgian poet Donna Lacour who also introduced him to the work of de Sade and Lautréamont – later twin obsessions。 French literature and a chance meeting with Marcel Duchamp eventually led him to Paris， although he left Lacour behind。 Not long after they met， Kiki and Man Ray moved in together and started their eight-year collaboration。 Braude’s dual biography’s accessible， sometimes gossipy but includes a decent overview of Kiki and Man Ray’s cultural and historical contexts – the aftermath of war， experiments with spiritualism - as well as the kinds of artwork and movements that influenced them – he also offers glimpses of writers and artists from Djuna Barnes to Jean Cocteau， Picasso， James Joyce and Gertrude Stein。 His work’s clearly well-researched， almost exhaustively， and I found this made it feel a little overly detailed， dense and leisurely at times， a bit whirlwind at others。 I was also a little disappointed by the later sections， after Kiki and Man Ray’s time together ended， they seemed particularly rushed and list-like， less lively and engaging than the earlier chronicle of Paris in the 1920s。 But Braide’s obvious interest in Kiki， his spirited defence of her cultural significance， and championing of her central role in Montparnasse’s artistic heyday， was also very persuasive and hard not to like。Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Two Roads for an ARC 。。。more
Annarella
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When I think about Kiki de Montparnasse and Man Ray I visualize Le violon d’Ingres and that was all I knew about their relationship and about Kiki。This well researched book make me learned a lot about these two artists and the great characters that were part of their world。It's a highly recommended read if you want to learn about an exceptional woman and her life。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine When I think about Kiki de Montparnasse and Man Ray I visualize Le violon d’Ingres and that was all I knew about their relationship and about Kiki。This well researched book make me learned a lot about these two artists and the great characters that were part of their world。It's a highly recommended read if you want to learn about an exceptional woman and her life。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Jurga
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I have to admit， that I did not know much about Kiki prior to reading this book。 However， as a person with a professional interest in photography， I'm familiar with Man Ray's work。。。 It is an interesting book about an interesting person and touches others， who surrounded her， with special attention to Man Ray himself。 Kiki was his friend， partner， muse。。。 you name it。 As a very creative person herself， she not only posed for other artists， or acted in films but produced paintings herself。 This l I have to admit， that I did not know much about Kiki prior to reading this book。 However， as a person with a professional interest in photography， I'm familiar with Man Ray's work。。。 It is an interesting book about an interesting person and touches others， who surrounded her， with special attention to Man Ray himself。 Kiki was his friend， partner， muse。。。 you name it。 As a very creative person herself， she not only posed for other artists， or acted in films but produced paintings herself。 This lead me to the fact， that this book would have strongly benefited from the illustrations - whether pictures artists， especially Man Ray produced of her， or her own work。 The descriptions are fairly good but one picture would say more than a hundred words。。。Otherwise， this book covers the life of a very overlooked person and reaches out to the sources， which might be difficult to find。 It also encourages to read more by anyone who is or gets interested in the particular era， area， person， or certain artists and their work。 I might dig out my copy of a book on Man Ray's life and career， which I still didn't get to read yet。 。。。more
Erin Biddlecombe
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An evocative romp！ Such an interesting portrayal of Kiki and her relationships with others and her craft。 I couldn’t put this book down。 Highly recommend for any lover of art， French history， or even ‘Emily in Paris’ viewers…。
Joshua Linde
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Finally an author who has honoured the great Kiki de Montparnasse - the woman who’s name should be commonplace in fashion and photography。 This was a lovely read of a romantic comedy which is so relevant today。
Mary Rose
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