Man Ray: Masters of Photography Series

by Man Ray (Photographs), Jed Perl

“I do not photograph nature, I photograph my fantasy,” Man Ray proclaimed, and he found in the camera's eye and in light's magical chemistry the mechanisms for dreaming. Schooled as a painter and designer in New York, Man Ray turned to photography after discovering the 291 Gallery and its charismatic founder, Alfred Stieglitz. As a young expatriate in Paris during the twenties and thirties, Man Ray embraced Surrealism and Dadaism, creeds that emphasized chance effects, disjunction and surprise. Tireless experimentation with technique led him to employ solarization, grain enlargement, mixed media and cameraless prints (photograms)--which he called “Rayographs”. These successful manipulations for which he was dubbed “the poet of the darkroom” by Jean Cocteau, were a major contribution to twentieth-century photography. Man Ray presents 43 of the greatest images from the artist's career. The essay by Jed Perl describes the influences on Man Ray's career and his enduring contribution to photography.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, Reference, Art and Photography

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky), was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. Best known in the art world for his avant-garde photography, Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned fashion and portrait photographer.

While appreciation for Man Ray’s work beyond his fashion and portrait photography was slow in coming during his lifetime, especially in his native United States, his reputation has grown steadily in the decades since.

In 1999, ARTnews magazine named him one of the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century, citing his groundbreaking photography as well as "his explorations of film, painting, sculpture, collage, assemblage, and prototypes of what would eventually be called performance art and conceptual art" and saying "Man Ray offered artists in all media an example of a creative intelligence that, in its 'pursuit of pleasure and liberty,'" — Man Ray’s stated guiding principles — "unlocked every door it came to and walked freely where it would."

Reviews

[Tony Vacation · Rating 5 out of 5]

I <3 Man Ray.

[Carly Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Striking classic photos.

[Hubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to Surrealist Man Ray's work - opens with a short essay by Jed Perl. Each image is accompanied by title and date of photographic work on left side. Covers his exposure to the international arts scene of post-WWI Paris, the impact of three techniques (Rayographs, solarizations, and granular photography) on his aesthetics, and balancing his career between the lucrative photography of the rich and famous and his more avant-garde output.

[Kai Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting selection of Man Ray's surrealist photographic art (plus a few examples of his portrait photography), with an informative introduction by Jed Perl. Lacking a deeper understanding of the visual arts as well as a familiarity with Man Ray's work, I can't judge how accurate, representative and good the selection is.

[Kandise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice if flowery introduction by Jed Perl to the photographs of Man Ray which mostly don't do anything for me. The library copy I read was missing the page with La Priere...

[Kayla]

“I do not photograph nature, I photograph my fantasy.”

[Elena (lesmedelena) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man Ray <3

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emmanuel Rudnistsky, as Man Ray, is a major American artist of the twentieth century.
He was a signifiant contributor to both "The Dada and Surrealist movement".

He argued that the painting he used to fix the images aware of the reality and that the photography is a mode of fantastic expression.

Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned portrait photographer.

Man Ray was all daring and put technology for a permanent inventiveness.

[David Morillo Barrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es increíble ver como fue pionero Man Ray. Estás fotografías son magníficas, hermosas y hasta bizarras. Me impresiona ver como una mente así vivió en los inicios del siglo XX. Estás fotografías (si no es por las personas y sus rostros) podría ser fácilmente actuales, ya que los conceptos de surrealismo y abstracción, son muy actuales y los podría ver en una galería actual y conocer al mismo fotógrafo.
.
Me hubiese gustado leer más sobre él. El texto es hermoso pero un libro de fotografías complementado con textos, a mi parecer, le añade algo más.

[Clare Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Photographer, artist, surrealist, poet, film-maker and lover. Man Ray was inventive in his approach, experimental in technique - creating the 'Rayograph', using solarisation techniques, superimposition and journalling his experiences, relationships and friendships through the medium of film. The works of Kiki de Montparnasse are fabulous; I particularly like Violon d'Ingres (Kiki de Montparnasse), 1924, photograph.

[Cc · Rating 3 out of 5]

exquisite chemistry, for the love of dada...

[Chavaleh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Includes photographs that are not actually Man Ray's.