Kiki of Montparnasse
I ran across an interesting character yesterday. I was looking at a series of photographs of Alexander Calder from his stay in Paris in the late 20’s and early 1930’s. Calder took up residence in Paris while honing his skills as an artist and sculptor. He was photographed with a woman named Kiki of Montparnasse (photo left is Calder and Kiki, photo credit: Calder Foundation). She was also known as the Queen of Montparnasse. Well, this made me curious… who was this woman and where did you get such a title? So I began to dig.
Montparnasse is an arrondissement (neighborhood) of Paris. It is famous for a few things… today it has the Montparnasse Tower and the Montparnasse Cemetery (Brancusi and Jean-Paul Sartre are buried there)… in the 20’s & 3o’s, it was where many avant-garde artists lived and worked… Picasso, Calder, Man Ray, Miro… and Alice Prin, or Kiki.
She was a cabaret singer, a painter, a writer, and a muse. She was independent, audacious and creative. She had a presence. And she was on the arm of Man Ray for many years appearing in many of his photographs. She posed for countless artists including Picasso, Modigliani, Picabia, Cocteau and Kisling, to name a few. She was celebrated… but she was NO angel.
Happily, Kiki’s story is being explored by… cartoonists… There is a graphic novel ( Kiki de Montparnasse: A Graphic Biography) and an animated short film was made in 2012. It has made the film festival rounds and I am enthralled with the animation style. Here’s the animation trailer. Enjoy.
It’s always nice to see a woman with a story. Sadly I don’t think hers would interest me, but at least I know who that face belongs to now.
In some ways a French Dorthy Parker (cf: recent posts by brig and Lady Jenn to “Dear Theo”).
I think I may have seen a reference to her before, but I can’t really place it.
Lady Jenn… Yes, Kiki was in a great many photos of Man Ray… she had beautiful lips and an unusual nose. As far as her story, I have the graphic biography on order.
Beetles… I am growing increasingly fond of Dorothy Parker. She was an incredible wit and an incredible drinker. The latter she has in common with Kiki… the wit I cannot comment upon….yet.
I have this gem above my desk in my office:
“I don’t know much about being a millionaire, but I’ll bet I’d be a darling at it.” -Dorothy Parker
I always look at Dorothy Parker and think she and Winston Churchill should have got together to snipe at each other. I think the result would have been the most quotable argument ever between two recognizable nasties!
I find it most amusing that people like Kiki only get looked into by their fellow creative types, while outright socially cruel people are known by everyone.
I’m not sure Parker-Churchill would have been equal Wilde-Whistler.
Okay, I admit that would be way more entertaining.