Claude Cahun (25 October 1894 – 8 December 1954) was a French artist, photographer and writer.^[1] Her work was both political and personal, and often played with the concepts of gender and sexuality.

Early life[link]

Born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob in Nantes, she was the niece of writer Marcel Schwob and the great-niece of Orientalist David Léon Cahun. Her mother's mental problems meant that she was brought up by her paternal^[2] grandmother, Mathilde Cahun.

She began making photographic self-portraits as early as 1912, when she was 18 years old, and she continued taking images of herself through the 1930s.

Around 1919, she settled on the pseudonym Claude Cahun, intentionally selecting a sexually ambiguous name, after having previously used the names Claude Courlis (after the curlew) and Daniel Douglas (after Lord Alfred Douglas). During the early 20s, she settled in Paris with her life-long partner and stepsister Suzanne Malherbe. For the rest of their lives together, Cahun and Malherbe (who adopted the pseudonym "Marcel Moore") collaborated on various written works, sculptures, photomontages and collages. She published articles and novels, notably in the periodical "Mercure de France", and befriended Henri Michaux, Pierre Morhange and Robert Desnos.

Around 1922 she and Malherbe began holding artists' salons at their home. Among the regulars who would attend were artists Henri Michaux and André Breton and literary entrepreneurs Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier.^[3]

Work[link]

Cahun's work encompassed writing, photography, and theater. She is most remembered for her highly-staged self portraits and tableaux that incorporated the visual aesthetics of Surrealism.

Her published writings include "Heroines," (1925) a series of monologues based upon female fairy tale characters and intertwining them with witty comparisons to the contemporary image of women; Aveux non avenus, (Carrefour, 1930) a book of essays and recorded dreams illustrated with photomontages; and several essays in magazines and journals.^[4]

In 1932 she joined the Association des Écrivains et Artistes Révolutionnaires, where she met André Breton and René Crevel. Following this, she started associating with the surrealist group, and later participated in a number of surrealist exhibitions, including the London International Surrealist Exhibition (New Burlington Gallery) and Exposition surréaliste d'Objets (Charles Ratton Gallery, Paris), both in 1936. In 1934, she published a short polemic essay, Les Paris sont Ouverts, and in 1935 took part in the founding of the left-wing group Contre Attaque, alongside André Breton and Georges Bataille.

In 1994 the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London held an exhibition of Cahun's photographic self-portraits from 1927-47, alongside the work of two young contemporary British artists, Virginia Nimarkoh and Tacita Dean, enitled Mise en Scene. In the surrealist self-portraits, Cahun represented herself as a dandy, skinhead and androgyne, nymph, model and soldier.^[5]

World War II activism[link]

In 1937 Cahun and Malherbe settled in Jersey. Following the fall of France and the German occupation of Jersey and the other Channel Islands, they became active as resistance workers and propagandists. Fervently against war, the two worked extensively in producing anti-German fliers. Many were snippets from English-to-German translations of BBC reports on the Nazis' crimes and insolence, which were pasted together to create rhythmic poems and harsh criticism. The couple then dressed up and attended many German military events in Jersey, strategically placing them in soldier's pockets, on their chairs, etc. Also, fliers were inconspicuously crumpled up and thrown into cars and windows. In many ways, Cahun and Malherbe's resistance efforts were not only political but artistic actions, using their creative talents to manipulate and undermine the authority which they despised. In many ways, Cahun's life's work was focused on undermining a certain authority, however her specific resistance fighting targeted a physically dangerous threat. In 1944 they were arrested and sentenced to death, but the sentences were never carried out. However, Cahun's health never recovered from her treatment in jail, and she died in 1954. She is buried in St Brelade's Church with her partner Suzanne Malherbe.

Social critique and legacy[link]

Claude Cahun's gravestone in the cemetery of St. Brelade's Church, Jersey

In many ways, Cahun's life was marked by a sense of role reversal, and her public identity became a commentary upon not only her own, but the public's notions of sexuality, gender, beauty, and logic. Her adoption of a sexually ambiguous name, and her androgynous self-portraits display a revolutionary way of thinking and creating, experimenting with her audience's understanding of photography as a documentation of reality. Her poetry challenged gender roles and attacked the increasingly modern world's social and economic boundaries. Also Cahun's participation in the Parisian Surrealist movement diversified the group's artwork and ushered in new representations. Where most Surrealist artists were men, and their primary images were of women as isolated symbols of eroticism, Cahun epitomized the chameleonic and multiple possibilities of the female identity. Her photographs, writings, and general life as an artistic and political revolutionary continue to influence countless artists, namely Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin and Del LaGrace Volcano.

Cahun's collected writings were published in 2002 as Claude Cahun - Écrits (ISBN 2-85893-616-1), edited by François Leperlier.

References[link]

• Claude Cahun Info Page
• Claude Cahun Tribute and Biography Page

Bibliography (French language)[link]

• Vues et Visions (Pseudonym Claude Courlis), Mercure de France, No. 406, 16 May 1914
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• La 'Salomé' d'Oscar Wilde. Le procés Billing et les 47000 pervertis du Livre noir, Mercure de France, No. 481, 1 July 1918
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Le poteau frontière (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 3, December 1918
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Au plus beau des anges (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 3, December 1918
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Cigarettes (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 3, December 1918
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Aux Amis des livres, La Gerbe, No. 5, February 1919
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• La Sorbonne en robe de fête (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 5, February 1919
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• La possession du Monde, par Georges Duhamel, La Gerbe, No. 7, April 1919
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Les Gerbes (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 7, April 1919
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• L'amour aveugle (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 12, September 1919
• La machine magique (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 12, September 1919
• Mathilde Alanic. Les roses refleurissent, Le Phare de la Loire, 29 June 1919
• Le théâtre de mademoiselle, par Mathias Morhardt, Le Phare de la Loire, 20 July 1919
• Vues et Visions, with Illustrations by Marcel Moore, Paris: Georges Crès & Cie, 1919
• Paraboles (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 17, February 1920
• Une conférence de Georges Duhamel (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 19, April 1920
• Marcel Schwob, La Gerbe, No. 20, May 1920
• Boxe (Pseudonym Daniel Douglas), La Gerbe, No. 22, July 1920
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Old Scotch Whisky, La Gerbe, No. 27, December 1920
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• A propos d'une conference and Méditations à la faveur d'un Jazz Band, La Gerbe, No. 27, December 1920
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Héroïnes: 'Eve la trop crédule', 'Dalila, femme entre les femmes', 'La Sadique Judith', 'Hélène la rebelle', 'Sapho l'incomprise', 'Marguerite, sœur incestueuse', 'Salomé la sceptique', Mercure de France, No. 639, 1 February 1925
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Héroïnes: 'Sophie la symboliste', 'la Belle', Le Journal littéraire, No. 45, 28 February 1925
• Méditation de Mademoiselle Lucie Schwob, Philosophies, No. 5/6, March 1925
• Récits de rêve, in the special edition Les rêves, Le Disque vert, Third year, Book 4, No. 2, 1925
• Carnaval en chambre, La Ligne de cœur, Book 4, March 1926
• Ephémérides, Mercure de France, No. 685, 1 January 1927
  • Electronic edition on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Au Diable, Le Plateau, No. 2, May-June 1929
• Ellis, Havelock: La Femme dans la société - I. L'Hygiene sociale, translated by Lucy Schwob, Mercure de France, 1929
• Aveux non avenus, illustrated by Marcel Moore, Paris: Editions du Carrefour, 30 May 1930
  • Review on Bibliothèque Nationale Gallica
• Frontière Humaine, self-portrait, Bifur, No. 5, April 1930
• Protestez (AEAR), Feuille rouge, No. 2, March 1933
• Contre le fascisme Mays aussi contre l'impérialisme francais (AEAR), Feuille rouge, No. 4, May 1933
• Les Paris sont ouvert, Paris: José Corti, May 1934
• Union de lutte des intellectuels révolutionnaires, Contre-Attaque, 7 October 1935
• Prenez garde aux objets domestique, Cahier d'Art I-II, 1936
• Sous le feu des canons francais ... et alliés, Contre-Attaque, March 1936
• Dissolution de Contre-Attaque, L'Œuvre, 24 March 1936
• Exposition surréaliste d'objets, Exhibition at the Charles Ratton Gallery, Paris, 22–29 May 1936. Items listed by Claude Cahun are Un air de famille and Souris valseuses
• Il n'y a pas de liberté pour les ennemis de la liberté, 20 July 1936
• Deharme, Lise: Le Cœur de Pic, 32 illustrated with 20 photos by Claude Cahun, Paris: José Cortis, 1937
• Adhésion à la Fédération Internationale de l'Art Révolutionnaire Indépendant, Clé, No. 1, January 1939
• À bas les lettres de cachets! À bas la terreur grise! (FIARI), June 1939

Bibliography (English language)[link]

• Weaver, M. and Hammond, A. "Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore: Surrealist Sisters." History of Photography, Summer 1993, 17 (2), 217.
• Laurie J. Monahan, "Radical Transformations: Claude Cahun and the Masquerade of Womanliness". In: Catherine de Zegher (ed.), Inside the Visible, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston & MIT Press, 1996.
• Claude Cahun, Tacinta Dean and Virginia Nimarkoh: Mise-En-Scene: Institute for Contemporary Arts: London: 1996: ISBN 0-905263-59-6
• Shelley Rice:Inverted Odysseys: Claude Cahun, Maya Deren and Cindy Sherman: Cambridge: Massachuesetts: MIT Press: 1999: ISBN 0-262-68106-4
• Tirza True Latimer, "Narcissus and Narcissus: Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore," in Women Together/Women Apart: Portraits of Lesbian Paris. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8135-3595-6
• 'Playing a Part: The Story of Claude Cahun,' drama documentary film by Lizzie Thynne, Brighton: Sussex University, 2004. Available from l.thynne@sussex.ac.uk.
• Louise Downie: Don't Kiss Me: The Art of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore: London: Aperture: 2006: ISBN 1-85437-679-9
• Julie Cole: "Claude Cahun, Marcel Moore and the Collaborative Construction of a Lesbian Subjectivity." In: Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard (eds.), Reclaiming Female Agency: Feminist Art History after Postmodernism, Berkeley, University of California Press, 2005.
• Marcus Williamson: "Claude Cahun at School in England", Lulu, 2011. ISBN 978-1-257-63952-6

Film[link]

• Playing a Part - by Lizzie Thynne
• Lover Other by Barbara Hammer

Theater[link]

• Claude - by Andrea Kleine

Exhibitions[link]

• International Surrealist Exhibition, London - June-July 1936
• Surrealist Sisters Jersey Museum 1993
• Mise en Scene - Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London - 13 October to 27 November 1994
• Claude Cahun : photographe : Claude Cahun 1894-1954 - Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris - 23 June to 17 September 1995
• Neue Museum, Graz, Austria - 4 October to 3 December 1997
• Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang Essen, Germany - 18 January - 8 March 1998
• Don't Kiss Me - Disruptions of the Self in the Work of Claude Cahun - Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada - 7 November to 20 December 1998
• Don't Kiss Me - Disruptions of the Self in the Work of Claude Cahun - Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario, Canada - 8 May to 18 July 1999
• Inverted Odysseys - Grey Art Gallery, New York, USA - 16 November 1999 to 29 January 2000
• Surrealism: Desire Unbound - Tate Modern, London - 20 September 2001 to 1 January 2002
• Claude Cahun - Retrospective - IVAM, Valencia, Spain - 8 November 2001 to 20 January 2002
• I am in training - don't kiss me - New York, USA - May 2004
• Acting Out: Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore - The Judah L. Magnes Museum - 4 April - July 2005
• Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME, USA - September to October 2005
• Jersey Museum - November 2005 to January 2006
• Cahun Exhibition - Jeu de Paume, Place de la Concorde, Paris - 24 May to 25 September 2011.
• Cahun Exhibition - Will also tour to Art Institute of Chicago and La Virreina Centre de la image, Barcelona in 2011/2012.
• March 2012 in Cahun's home town of Nantes, as part of two seasons on 'Le film et l'acte de création: Entre documentaire et oeuvre d'art' ('Film and the creative act: Between documentary and the work of art').

External links[link]

• Claude Cahun Home Page
• Claude Cahun, "Je est une autre" in PURPOSE #7 (photographic webmag)
• De l'Éros des femmes surréalistes et de Claude Cahun en particulier by Georgina M.M. Colvile
• Prof. Gen Doy on Claude Cahun

Nancy Sit Ka Yin (Chinese: 薛家燕, MH born 30 March 1950) is a Hong Kong actress on the TVB network. Her acting career dated back to the 1960s, when she was a popular teen idol alongside Connie Chan Po-chu, and Josephine Siao. Sit recorded many albums in her teens, and later served as a mentor to Anita Mui, who went on to become one of the biggest superstars in Hong Kong history.

Sit left the entertainment business after she got married and raised a family, but in the early 1990s, her marriage fell apart when her husband left her. Sit was devastated and has said she contemplated suicide. But she thought of her children, which gave her the will to continue with life. She decided to get back into show business and was able to capitalize on the popularity she had achieved as a teen idol, even though it was so many years later.

She first starred in the long-running series A Kindred Spirit, playing one of the show's central figures. It was the longest-running series in Hong Kong history, with more than 1,000 episodes.

In 1975 she joined to Flatfoot Goes East, a film of Italian director Steno with well-known actor Bud Spencer. In this film, she plays the brief and touching role of a young mother which sacrifices herself to save the life of her son Yoko (Day Golo) from a gangster band.

Sit's recent work in TVB's TV series made her very popular in Southeast Asia. Sit stars in the sitcoms, Virtues of Harmony and its sequel Virtues of Harmony II. In Virtues of Harmony, Sit plays a boss of a Chinese restaurant in Ming Dynasty, and playing a similar character in a modern setting in its sequel, Virtues of Harmony II.

In 2005 Nancy, and co-star William Hung, featured in the Hong Kong movie Where Is Mama's Boy. The accompanying soundtracks included theme songs from the movie that were performed by Nancy, William and Huang Yi-Fei (Wong Yat-Fei).

She also visited several countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, to promote shows in which she performed such as A Kindred Spirit and to host the Channel U variety special.

In late 2009, rumours circulated about Sit in regards to serious health problems (she had surgery to remove Gallstones and cholangitis).^[1] Around this time, she was seen walking uneasily and needing assistance in public by her daughter. As of late 2010, Sit appears to have made a full recovery.

Filmography[link]

TVB series[link]

ATV series[link]

Year	Title	Role
1979	Dragon Strikes 《天龍訣》	南宮明珠
	It Takes A Thief[disambiguation needed ] 《侠盗风流》	龙萧公主
1990	The Third Radio Staion 《第三间电台》	罗咏琴

Other series[link]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Princess Ji Zhuang 《庄姬公主》	穆赢太后	(Taiwan Television Station Series)
2005	Love Concierge 《愛的掌門人》	谢美娇	(Media Corp Series)
2007	Double Happiness[disambiguation needed ] 《龙凤呈祥》		(China Central Television Series)

Feature Films[link]

Personal[link]

Nancy Sit is one of five sisters. She has three children from her marriage to Shek, Jamie, Justina and Jackson Shih. Justina and Jackson reside in the United States and Jamie with her in Hong Kong.

Since Nancy Sit fell ill in 2009, as of 2010 all three of her children returned to Hong Kong to lessen her work load and start a career in Hong Kong. Justina acts as Sit's manager as well as looking after Mother Hong Kong Arts Centre.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nancy Sit at the Internet Movie Database
• Nancy Sit Ka-Yin filmography at lovehkfilm.com