Artist of the Week: Man Ray

Man Ray

1890-1976

“I do not photograph nature. I photograph my visions.”
–Man Ray

"Legendary Photography, painter, and maker of objects and films, Man Ray was on the most versatile and inventive artists of this century. Born in Philadelphia in 1890, he knew the worlds of Greenwich Village in the avant garde era following the 1913 Armory show; Paris in the 1920's and 1930's, where he played a key role in the Dada and Surrealist movements; The Hollywood of the 1940s, where he joined others chased by war from their homes in Europe; and finally, Paris again until his death in 1976. "

From Man Ray Trust

(everything you ever wanted to know about him and a complete image archive)

 

Self-portrait

The Gift

1921

"Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask 'how', while others of a more curious nature will ask 'why'. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information." – Man Ray 

Kiki de Montparnasse

1922

...a wild, impetuous, amoral woman at a time when, beyond bohemian circles, women were often still expected to be seen and not heard. "All I need is an onion, a bit of bread, and a bottle of red," Kiki once said. "And I will always find somebody to offer me that."   read more: Kiki: The Queen of Bohemia

 Noire et Blanche

 Electricity
1926

(the model is Kiki) 

Man Ray began work in several mediums: sculpture, film, painting and photography were just some of his many passions. His earliest works were fairly static, inspired mostly by cubism and expressionism. It was only when Marcel Duchamp befriended him that he began to add movement to his works; his focus changed to Surrealism and Dadaism. Together the two founded the Society of Independent Artists in 1916, and published a single issue of New York Dada.

Kiki de Montparnasse in a variante of "Violons d'Ingres"

 

In 1921 he coined the term “rayograph” for a cameraless process using objects to block light and embed their image on light sensitive paper. In his homage to a revered master, “Le violon d’Ingres”(“Ingres’ Violin,” 1924), Ray combined a rayographic technique with a regular photograph, overlaying the curving f-holes from a violin onto a photograph of the naked back of his model and mistress, Kiki.

1929

Man Ray tried to create a Surrealist vision of the female form, and utilized solarization, cropping, over development (various photographic techniques) to create a surreal effect in his photographs.

Tears

1930

Lee Miller's Neck

1930

Lee Miller

Dora Maar

French photographer, poet and painter best know for being a lover and muse of Pablo Picasso


Having broken with his wife, Man Ray left New York for Paris in 1921—marking a continuous stream of tempestuous and often doomed romances. Through Duchamp, Man Ray met some of the most exciting artists and thinkers in Paris. Though he didn’t speak a word of French at first, he was welcomed into this group and became its unofficial photographer. Among the many models from this period were Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Gertude Stein, James Joyce, and the famous performer, Kiki of Montparnasse. For six years Kiki was Ray’s constant model, muse and lover

Pablo Picasso

 Dali

 Gertrude Stein
(Of "A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose" fame. I still scratch my head over how Stein ever became known as a writer, but that's just me.)

Henri Matisse

 Jean Cocteau


Paintings

 After Lunch

1919

Sculpture

Le Cadeau (The Gift)

is an early readymade by Man Ray (with the assistance of Erik Satie), consisting of an iron with fourteen nails glued to its sole, made in 1921 in Paris.

Much like Oppenheim’s Object, Gift is a conjunction of two alien objects. One represents domesticity and possibly femininity; the other represents carpentry and hence masculinity. The sheer failure of Gift as something practical makes the object a poor gift -- ironic naming on Ray’s part.

Film