Liberated: The Radical Art and Life of Claude Cahun

Liberated: The Radical Art and Life of Claude Cahun, by Kaz Rowe, presents a graphic telling, largely using Cahun's own words, of a life lived fully and, as much as possible, on her own terms. Those terms were often difficult to negotiate with the society around her.

I was familiar with a few of the images I saw when I looked up more information online, but I knew almost nothing about her life, so this volume introduced me to a phenomenal person who needs to be more widely known. Though admittedly my ignorance is no indication that others are equally ignorant.

The artwork, for me, made this even more impactful. Real enough (especially with the occasional actual photographs) to remind me this is a real person's life yet surreal (?) enough show more to illustrate just how much took place on the fringes of accepted society. Using Cahun's own words served two main functions, at least for me. One is creating a sense of a close personal telling of the events. But just as important for me was it made me want to find more of her written and artistic work.

Highly recommended not just for those interested in art history or even more generally history, but also for those readers who might find inspiration in reading about someone who maintained a love for people even while having to navigate their biases.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

This book was presented to me as a young adult book. Once I finally dismissed that idea and recategorized in my head as an adult book, it was much more enjoyable. Claude Cahun's art and ideas would require much more of me than a quick read through this graphic novel in order to fully understand them, but the story of her life through the antebellum and war years of early 20th century France was compelling enough to carry me through the more oblique artistic statements and passages. The final parts, regarding her and her partner's imprisonments as guerilla fighters in WWII, were heartbreaking yet uplifting in the end. A satisfying and edifying read.