LS 7
Alice Prin a.k.a. Kiki de Montparnasse
1. Bonjour, Kiki! It’s wonderful to get a chance to interview you—you’re flourished in so many artistic fields. What got you interested in the arts?
Kiki:
Well it’s wonderful to get this chance to talk about my life! I do love to tell stories! Really, I became interested in the arts at a very young age. My mother, who traipsed off to Paris when I was still a baby, left me with my grandmother in the little French town of Châtillon-sur-Seine (Kiki, 75). But when I turned twelve, I went to live with my mother in the shiny, extravagant town of Paris! At thirteen, I stopped going to school and became a knitter’s apprentice—not much of an art career, but it was a start. Oh, I had so many jobs after that one—shoe making, soldering, making aeroplanes and baking bread (Kiki, 85-86).3
But back to the question! Let’s see, I was about fourteen and a half, I was out of work and I met an old sculptor. He had me pose for him, in the nude (Kiki, 102)! The townspeople talked about me, day and night it seemed. Well, when my mother found out, how she threw a fit! She disowned me that day, or that’s how I see it. She was never much of a mother to me, so it didn’t matter too much. It was not long after that I began to pose for many an artist, and it did get me into a good bit of trouble. But I won’t go into that now.
2. How very interesting! Could you tell me a bit more about the mentors who helped you develop your talents as an artist?
Kiki:
Oh, how could I start? Well, when I was still a young teenager, I was staying in an artist’s studio. There was a nice painter there who gave me a job as a helper! Oh how I was pleased. In fact, he gave me twenty francs right away (Kiki, 113)! But he was only one of the mentors I have had in my overflowing life. Oh- there was Moise Kisling, who I modeled for and of course was a good friend to.
How could I forget Foujita? He was born in Japan, a painter and printmaker, but later he lived in Montparnasse! Oh, I modeled for him for some time, and he didn’t take advantage of me like many of the other artists I worked for. He would pay me two or three hundred francs if he sold a piece I had modeled for (“Tsuguharu”). But my most beloved mentor, of course, was Man Ray. Oh, he makes the most beautiful photographs. I was his muse, model and lover for six wonderful years of my life (“Man Ray”). I simply love his work.
3. What was the world of art like when you become part of it?
Kiki:
To be an artist in Paris! It was a simply wonderful time—artists were encouraged by the government to live and work in Paris (Klüver, 18). Oh, we could be eccentric and experimental and free in Paris! You see, I was more of a friend to the artists than I was their model, so I got to know so many of them quite well. Sensuality and nudity were embraced in the art of the 1920s, although it didn’t win me any points with my mother.
In Paris, and Montparnasse, there were the nightclubs. They would fill each evening with successful artists and writers and people of Paris society. I experienced so much of the culture—I was a performer, model, artist, writer, and entertainer in general (“Alice”). There was art deco, which originated in Paris in the twenties (“American”). But really, the world of art was realistic and rebellious while I live in Montparnasse. There was open sexuality, profanity, and we fought censorship with a passion (“American”)!
4. That sounds just lovely! But tell me, how did the major cultural, economic and political situations of the time impact your work?
Kiki:
Well, I was very deep in poverty when I was born and for a good while after. As soon as I was thirteen years old, I began to work. As I mentioned before, my area of work would fluctuate constantly, but most of my jobs had something to do with the war. I suppose it’s called World War One now. I earned three francs a day in a factory, repairing soldiers’ shoes. I made parts for aeroplanes, grenades, and created dirigible balloons! After the war ended, around 1918, it seemed much of France and the world at large was having a big economic lift (“The 1920s”)! But I was still without many prospects and I was willing to do anything (and I mean anything) for a few francs.
Even if Montparnasse was willing to accept models and us run-around artists, many a person thought I was some kind of prostitute! How I loathed it. It was around 1929, and I was going into an English bar that I didn’t frequent. The boss of the bar told me “no whores allowed here!” (Kiki, 164) After I jumped on him and tried my best to hit him, I was arrested. My time in prison, even if only a short two weeks, was certainly quite a trying time. Truly, no one could see that an artist’s model was not a ‘fille de joie’!
5. I know you didn’t consider yourself as just one kind of artist, but could you tell me a bit about your accomplishments and methods in modeling and painting?
Kiki:
For me, my largest accomplishment in painting was when I had a sold-out exhibition at the Galerie au Sacre du Printemps in Paris (Kohner, 92). I was simply elated. I enjoy painting portraits, events, animals, and landscapes, but I am not a master artist like some of my friends. My methods? Well, I would say I am an expressionist, and my paintings tend to be light and a bit sloppy. There isn’t really a method to my madness, in painting or in any of the arts I enjoy. In modeling, I like to find an artist who wishes to make art with me, and I am not afraid of posing nude.
I see you didn’t mention writing in your question, but I’d like to talk a bit about it anyhow. I wrote an autobiography, called ‘Kiki’s Memoirs’, which I am ever so proud of. I’m sure I offended a few people or shocked a few people, but what can I say? It is my life and I love living it! Again, I’m not a writer by trade and the words I put in my book are nothing compared to what my good friend Ernest Hemingway scribed. I really don’t do anything ‘professionally’, I just enjoy life.
6. What were some of the biggest opportunities you had that turned your life around?
Kiki:
Biggest opportunities… well, probably working with all of the wonderful artists that I have had the honor to know. As a model, I couldn’t have become successful without the artists that photographed, painted, and sculpted me. As an artist, I wouldn’t have known about different styles and techniques without the artists who taught me. And more than that, I have had such a great many friendships with these ever so talented people.
Man Ray, whom I dearly love, was one of the main reasons for my success! He took hundreds of photos of me (“Alice”), all beautiful works of art that truly spread my image. And of course my memoir! Henri Broca, mon cher, helped me to finish my manuscript and published the first few chapters in his magazine (Kiki, 28). I could go on to list the dozens of people who have helped me to get to my level of success, but truly I have to thank my dunce of a father for abandoning me an my mother! Without him, my mother wouldn’t have gone off to Paris. And without Paris, where would I be?
7. What personal choices did you make to become successful?
Kiki:
I chose to be myself in life! I pushed for what I wanted and went out into the world. I could’ve stayed in Châtillon and lived an ugly, impoverished life. But I chose to take the chance and get on the train to Paris to meet my less than reliable mother (“La Vie”). Many people have criticized me, behind my back and right to my face, about my open sensuality and the things I have been willing to do for money. I was desperate, and poor, and willing to lose a little bit of dignity if I would get ten francs. The money I earned and the people I met in those hard times were instrumental to my success. Many of those people became dear friends to me.
Another choice I made was to publish my book, which I have referred to several times now. ‘Kiki’s Memoirs’ is controversial! It tells about my private life and the people who treated me badly and the people who I have loved. I knew some people would not be happy, but why hesitate? In fact, my book was banned in America for many, many years (“La Vie”), but I am not losing any weight over it (Kiki, 30). I was honest! If the American government could not handle that, c’est la vie!
8. That’s the spirit! Could you go a bit more into the hardships that you faced on the road to success?
Kiki:
I was poor. That’s the big one. But I don’t blame my grandparents or mother for the way things turned out. It was never easy, especially during the times of war, to sustain our big family (Kiki, 75). The war was the main cause of our suffering when I was a child. We never had enough money and food was scarce. Twice every week, me and my sibling and cousins would go to the Good Sisters to get some rice or kidney bean soup (Kiki, 78).
My grandparents used to tell me about the Franco-Prussian War that happened before I was born. All the people of Paris were starving so much that they began to eat cats and dogs (“Paris”). I guess I didn’t have it quite so bad after all! Actually, it wasn’t so hard to get out of poverty. When I put in a lot of hard work, and really stuck with it, I was able to get somewhere in life. Now, I was never one of the richest, but I certainly had some very rich experiences.
9. What kind of limitations did you run into, as both an artist and a person?
Kiki:
I had my own style as an artist, which many others admired, but I never had as much natural talent as my friends. What critics would call “loose brush strokes” was really my own laziness or sloppiness. I had a very childish style, and I felt that I never could be a master. My works of art were all underpriced at my exhibition because Botin, the gallery owner, because he thought of me as a charming dilettante instead true artist (Kohner, 93).
What really was a limitation, at least in art and writing, was my gender. Now, I’m definitely not known for feministic views, and a lot of women out there probably loath me. Perhaps for sleeping with their husbands, or maybe because I sold myself to get out of poverty. But really, being a poor woman with no prospects in the twenties was not easy. Unlike men, who could easily be artists, writers, or scholars and succeed, women of my time had to be respectable mothers and housewives. It was very difficult to become an artist, and even more so a model, and still have a place in society.
10. What personal stories best illustrate how you became successful in the arts?
Kiki:
Oh you ask me oh so many questions! Next time, let’s go for only one or two? Well, alright, there is the story of my first exhibition of paintings, did I mention it before? It was in 1927, and the opening party was crowded from five o’clock until after midnight! I never expected my naïve work to be so popular, but oh, the little gallery seethed with excited comments (Klüver, 22). It was so remarkable—by the end of the night, nearly all of the pieces had been sold!
To close, I’d like to quote what dear Robert Desnos wrote in the preface to my exhibition catalogue. “You have, my dear Kiki such beautiful eyes, that the world you see through them must be beautiful. What do you see? A grassy field in a calm valley at the edge of a murmuring sea…this valley you have created is the world you live in far from here, even if you shine in Paris—this city you will never leave, whose nights are familiar to you, with alcohol, feverish music, and wonderful dances. Either here or far away, my dear Kiki, through your beautiful eyes, the world is beautiful.” (Kiki’s Paris)
Thank you so much for this chance to be interviewed. And remember, my dear, all I need is an onion, a bit of bread, and a bottle of red, and I will always find someone to offer me that (Kiki, 35). Merci beaucoup!
(Works Cited are on the page Interview Citations)
