I was 20 years old and in Paris.
My first job was with the magazine Opus International. I had to write small pieces about exhibitions. I remember that I had no money, either for metro tickets or for stamps, so I walked all the way to Sain-Germain from my room located in the 14th district. After having typed the articles, I took them to the editor, Gérald Gassiot-Talabot, at the Guide Bleu offices near Châtelet.
The text about Marcelle Cahn is one of the first that I wrote. From that year I can only remember her exhibiiton and that of Louis Pons at the Point Cardinal Gallery. Walking through the gallery I was struck by Marcelle Cahn's collages, which were at once fragile and strong. Although they were small in size they seemed to have a real radiance. Spontaneously I decided to write a piece about the exhibition.
I realize now that my two choices : Marcelle Cahn and Louis Pons, although extremely different in their styles and choices of material, were both very independent people who remained apart from artistic mouvements and lived lives that were quite solitary and without compromise.
I had read the book about collages by Herta Wescher (1) in which she reproduced some old examples and numerous works of Dada, surrealist and constructivist artists. I don't think Marcelle Cahn was included.
What impressed me about Marcelle Cahn is the gift of finding something poetic in the most ordinary, everyday materials that we all crumple, put in our pockets and throw away at the end of the day. I felt that, like me, she was fascinated by old paper, cross-ruled paper, labels and coloured stickers. I was especially intrigued by her use of paper from the butcher shop, thin and slightly shiny used to wrap meat.
Several days after my article appeared in the magazine Opus International, I was surprised when I got a call from the Point Cardinal Gallery. I was given Marcelle Cahn's telephone number and told that she wanted me to contact her.
I went to her bedroom-studio in Neuilly-sur-Seine. I was quite intimidated, but she put me at ease. She had very thin grey hair which was pulled back, a kind expression behind her glasses. A sharp sense of humour. She told me that she had been very touched by my article (2) ; no one had written about her for a long time. She felt forgotten. Her voice wavered with emotion... I realized that she was very modest and didn't want fame but a fair recognition of the work that she had been doing for years and her place in the history of art. I was surprised and happy that my few lines were able to have a resonance for the artist. It was an encouragement for a difficult career, that of art critic.
As far as I can remember, her studio was small and orderly. On a large table there were piles of different kinds of paper- blue, brown, beige, no bright colors- with a variety of textures and thicknesses : stickers, labels, metro tickets, post cards. Around it there were shelves full of books, I believe.
On the table there was a folder full of collages. She took out one that was done on butcher shop paper and gave it to me. I couldn't believe how generous she was. After all , I had only written a short article. Her gift pleased me immensely. It was the beginning of a collection of photos and drawings that I have accumulated over the years from my different encounters with artists.
I regret not having gone back to see her.
Carole Naggar
(1) WESCHER Herta. Die Collage, Geschichte eines künstlerischen Ausdrucksmittels. Ed. M. Du Mont Schauberg, 1968 and WESCHER Herta. Collage. Ed. Hardcover, 1971.
(2) See "Actualités" in Opus International, december 1971, n°29-30.
