Man Ray

by Emmanuelle de L'Ecotais, Emmanuelle de L'Ecotais

Man Ray (1890-1976) is indisputably one of the most original artists of the 20th century. His revolutionary nude studies, fashion work, and portraits opened a new chapter in the history of photography. Born under the name of Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia, he began his artistic career in New York. In 1921 he moved to Paris, where he was enthusiastically welcomed into Dadaist and Surrealist circles. Man Ray experimented tirelessly with new photographic techniques, multiple exposure, rayography, and solarization being some of his most famous. Erotic, playful, and sometimes sinister, his compositions show unusual bodies and strange, striking images that transform our perceptions of reality. This collection of famous, lesser known, and unknown works fully illustrates Man Ray's singular visionary power.

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2004

About the author

Emmanuelle de l’Ecotais is curator for photography at the Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris since 2001. She has a PhD in History of Art, and is the specialist of Man Ray’s work. She has organized a large number of exhibitions, including Man Ray, la photographie à l’envers (Centre Pompidou/Grand Palais 1998), Alexandre Rodtchenko, La Photographie dans l’œil (Musée d’art moderne, 2007), Objectivités, La Photographie à Düsseldorf (ARC, 2008), Henri Cartier-Bresson, L’Imaginaire d’après nature (Musée d’Art moderne, 2009), Bernhard et Anna Blume, Polaroïd (Maison européenne de la photographie, 2010), Linder, Femme-Objet(Musée d’Art moderne/ARC, 2013), Jean-Philippe Charbonnier, l’œil de Paris (CMP, Paris, 2014). She is the author of number of essays and books, among them L’Esprit Dada (Editions Assouline, 1999), Man Ray (Taschen, 2000), Man Ray – Rayographies (Editions Léo Scheer, 2002), and is regularly member of different acquisitions committees (Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, 2004-2007, Maison européenne de la photographie, 2007-2010). Also part of the jury for Paris Jeunes Talents in visual arts, Prix pour la photographie of the Royal Monceau Hotel, Prix pour la photographie of La Fondation des Treilles, Prix de photographie Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière of the Academie Des Beaux-Arts. She has also been the artistic adviser for the Prix HSHC pour la Photographie in 2013.