Man Ray
Emmanuel Radnitzky, his birth name before he later went by just Man Ray around 1911, was born on August 27, 1890 to Jewish immigrants from Russia. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but grew up in New York City. There, he studied architecture, engineering, and art, and took up painting. He also frequented the “291” gallery, where he familiarized himself with the art trends at the time and his interest in art grew. In 1921, he moved to Paris, France, where he joined surrealist circles like the Parisian Dada, made up of artists and writers. There, he explored different media of art and photography.
Man Ray’s style of photography, or at least the style of photographs I will be emulating, is comparable to surrealism or abstract art, like the “The Persistence of Memory” painting, or something like that. Ray also invented a style of photography known as “Rayographs”, where he would lay objects on photosensitive paper, before exposing it to the light. This created very high-contrast pieces, with super dramatic lighting. The rayographs are usually of objects like lightbulbs, but his normal pictures are mostly compositions of female forms in dramatic lighting, or other abstract shapes to create a sort of surrealism.
To me, a lot of his works revolve around sexuality, specifically feminine sexuality. This can be seen in his piece Le Violon D’Ingres, where a nude woman is posed to emulate a stringed instrument, with f-holes superimposed onto her back. As for his other more abstract works, I’d like to cite something he once said: “I want to forget the past.” This mostly had to do with separating his artistic persona from his history and lineage, however this could be used to mean that his abstract photos represent the unpredictability of the future. I’m mostly just speculating, but I honestly couldn’t find much on what he was really trying to say with some of his abstract pieces.
I find his photography to be very interesting, both in composition, and the potential meaning behind it. I also find his rayographs, and the process with which they were produced, to be really compelling, and they make me want to create my own photograms. I’ve always really loved surrealism, specifically paintings, which he has also done, and are just as visually interesting as his photography. However, I personally like his photography more. There’s just something about the high-contrast black and white that’s really aesthetically pleasing.
Man Ray’s style of photography, or at least the style of photographs I will be emulating, is comparable to surrealism or abstract art, like the “The Persistence of Memory” painting, or something like that. Ray also invented a style of photography known as “Rayographs”, where he would lay objects on photosensitive paper, before exposing it to the light. This created very high-contrast pieces, with super dramatic lighting. The rayographs are usually of objects like lightbulbs, but his normal pictures are mostly compositions of female forms in dramatic lighting, or other abstract shapes to create a sort of surrealism.
To me, a lot of his works revolve around sexuality, specifically feminine sexuality. This can be seen in his piece Le Violon D’Ingres, where a nude woman is posed to emulate a stringed instrument, with f-holes superimposed onto her back. As for his other more abstract works, I’d like to cite something he once said: “I want to forget the past.” This mostly had to do with separating his artistic persona from his history and lineage, however this could be used to mean that his abstract photos represent the unpredictability of the future. I’m mostly just speculating, but I honestly couldn’t find much on what he was really trying to say with some of his abstract pieces.
I find his photography to be very interesting, both in composition, and the potential meaning behind it. I also find his rayographs, and the process with which they were produced, to be really compelling, and they make me want to create my own photograms. I’ve always really loved surrealism, specifically paintings, which he has also done, and are just as visually interesting as his photography. However, I personally like his photography more. There’s just something about the high-contrast black and white that’s really aesthetically pleasing.