Exist Otherwise: The Life and Works of Claude Cahun - Softcover

Shaw, Jennifer L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 178914700X ISBN 13: 9781789147001

Publisher: Reaktion Books, 2023

Synopsis

'A well-organized and well-researched biographical resource . . . [this] is a valuable contribution to the scant body of English-language scholarship on Cahun.' - Erin Silver, CAA Reviews

'In the graceful flow of Shaw's prose, Cahun's photographic projects illuminate and amplify her life, from the French provinces to Surrealist Paris to the occupied island of Jersey.' - Christina Kiaer, Northwestern University

Now available in paperback, this is the first work in English to tell the full story of Claude Cahun's art and life. It both recounts her life and analyses her complex writings and images, making them available to a wide audience. Shaw’s account embeds Cahun's work in the exciting milieu of Paris between the wars and follows it into the dangerous territory of the Nazi-occupied Isle of Jersey. Using letters and diaries, Shaw brings Cahun's ideas and feelings to life and contributes to our understanding of photography, Surrealism and the histories of women artists and queer culture.
This book includes a full range of illustrations by Cahun and other renowned photographers, as well as writings never before translated into English. Shaw's book will appeal to art and photography lovers and scholars alike.

About this title

About the Author

Jennifer L. Shaw is Professor of Art History at Sonoma State University, California. Her previous books include Reading Claude Cahun’s Disavowals (2013) and Dream States: Puvis de Chavannes, Modernism and the Fantasy of France (2002).

Edition details

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 178914700X
• ISBN 13: 9781789147001
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328