Man Ray - a artist in photography

He was under his original name Emmanuel Radnitzky as the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). The artist became one of the most important photographers in history Man Ray He also showed his creative power as a painter and filmmaker. He was the only American to play an important role in the Dadaistic and the surrealistic movement.

In all his creative activities, be it as a photographer, painter, filmmaker or object artist, Ray was given a lasting impression. His life was always shaped by his creative vigor and the passion for experiments. Man Ray was an internationally acting artist who continuously followed new paths and exceeded borders.

His photographic masterpieces, which are still one of the best known in art history, are just an example of the impressive work that he has produced. It is attributed to him that he has revolutionized the solarization method through his surrealistic pictures, known as Rayography .

As part of this artist portrait, we shed light on the decisive phases of his life. We analyze the characteristics of his individual artistic expression and appreciate the sustainable influence that he exerts on art until the present.

Childhood and early embossing in New York

As the son of Jewish immigrants - his father was a tailor and his mother tailor - Radnitzky grew up in New York City. After his decision in 1908, to reject a scholarship to take a career as an architect, he went on an artistic journey. He did this with the support of his parents, who converted part of their house into a studio.

As a toddler he learned to embroider and patchwork from his father. His artistic spirit began to develop at a young age. Later, his artistic work was supposed to reflect the technical skills he had.

After initial painting attempts that led him to the genres of impressionism and expressionism, the then young Radnitzky quickly realized that photography was his true passion. In 1911 he began to appear under the artist name "Man Ray" and became a member of the New York avant-garde art scene . Here he came into contact with greats like Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia, who both shaped him sustainably.

As a young man, he was a regular visitor to the "291" gallery by Alfred Stieglitz , where he came into contact with current art currents and dealt early on with photography.

The groundbreaking “Ready Mades” by Marcel Duchamp was used as inspiration to experiment with everyday objects and to position them in the context of art. Together with Duchamp, he founded the "Société Anonymous" , an organization that devoted itself to promoting modern art in the United States. They also worked together on film projects in which Ray was first experimented with with its photographic skills.

Breakthrough as a photo artist in Paris

In 1921 Ray was moved to Paris, where he quickly joined the resulting surrealistic movement . In the course of the leadership of André Breton, he developed into one of the most influential artists in the movement. At this place he further developed his photographic techniques, such as the "rayographies" , in which he directly exposed light -sensitive materials without a camera was required. He was also responsible for the development of a series of photographic process, including the photogram , and worked with Lee Miller on the process of solarization.

Ray was not only devoted to the creation of these experimental photograms , but also focused on portrait photography . In the 1920s and 1930s he represented almost all important artists and intellectuals who were active in Paris cultural life. These people included Pablo Picasso , Ernest Hemingway and many others. A considerable number of these pictures were published in renowned publications such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and VU.

Kiki de Montparnasse is shown in the photo next to an African ceremonial mask. The photo was originally published in the Vogue . The artist was fascinated by African art and this artwork reflects this fascination. At Christie’s in Paris, Noir et Blanche bought for 2.6 million euros in 2017, which corresponds to $ 3,120,658 in US dollars. So far it was the fourteenth -controlled image that was ever sold on an auction.

Works such as "Noire et Blanche" and "Le Violon d'Ingres" (1924, see illustration below) are among the most famous examples of his work. "Le Violon d'Ingres" shows a surrealistic nude photo of his beloved Kiki de Montparnasse. In these compositions, Ray was skillfully integrated and remarkable aspects of Dadaism and surrealism.

Experimental journey into film and object art

Man Ray was a filmmaker who, in addition to his photographic work, was also committed to the medium of film. At this place he used his photographic techniques and developed new forms of expression that were considered an avant -garde. In the area of ​​the surrealistic experimental film, short films such as "Le Retour à la Raison" (1923), Anémic Cinéma (1926; in collaboration with Duchamp) and "L'étile de Mer" (1928–29) are now considered a classic.

The object art of Man Ray was characterized by the same measure of innovation. Ducamp's "Ready-Mades" served as a source of inspiration for works such as "The Gift" (1921), which consisted of an iron with tears. Another example is "Indestructible Object" (1923/1965), which was a metronome on which the eye of his loved one was photographed. In these artifacts, the ethos of the Dada movement were expressed, which provocatively represented the estrangement of everyday life.

In the early 1930s, Ray's relationship with war rapporteur and photo model Lee Miller was extremely formative of his photographic work. Through the collaboration, they were able to develop techniques such as solarization and create a number of photos that have become icons. Ray's creativity was reached while this collaboration with the beautiful and intellectual Lee Miller , which became one of his most important muses. That was not the first relationship with one of his models, but a crucial, with very obsessive components.

On the other hand, the departure of Miller from Paris in 1932 was also a turning point in Man Ray's creative process, and it was a painful time from which he had to recover.

Return to the USA and back to Europe

In the 1940s he settled in New York City after the end of the Second World War. There he established himself as a fashion photographer. Ray was left in the art world, which followed a career that included several countries and significant art trends.

Nevertheless, he could not build on the successes of Paris and was forgotten for the time being. It was not until 1951 to Europe and stayed in Paris until his death in 1976.

In the past decades of his life, Ray was increasingly focused on painting and experimented with abstract forms. At the same time, he actively dealt with the reproduction and revision of his previous works, which he described and published as "editions". Through his actions, he made a significant contribution to the preservation of his photographic catalog for future generations.

The influence that Ray had on art did not decrease, even if he no longer radiated the same charm in his late work as in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his pictures are still considered to be significant milestones in art history and still serve as a source of inspiration for artists from different sectors.

Man Ray was unique in the inventiveness of his photography. The often mysterious charisma of his works has made some of his photographs to the works of the century that almost everyone knows. You really can't limit Ray to the subject of photography , although it is undoubtedly one of the most important photographers of the last century.

Painting and ReadyMades - experiments in many styles

In his painting, he tested a wide variety of painting styles until he found his own expression about works in impressionist style and landscapes that were influenced by Expressionism . Elements of this style, which was based on futurism and cubism , should preserve for a lifetime.

However, his most famous handed down works are not his pictures, but his photographs. As early as 1914, Ray was acquired the first camera, at that time he was 24 years old. At that time he had his first solo exhibition as a painter.

Similar to Duchamp, Ray also began with the production of readymades , commercially produced objects, which he referred to as works of art. One of his best -known readymades is " The Gift (1921)" , an iron with a number of zipes that are glued to the underside.

Rayographies & solarization - photo art from your own darkroom

Around 1919 Ray began to work on his photographs in the darkroom. He developed the "rayography" . The rayographies were enthusiastically received and Ray was also made known in the European avant -garde.

Rayography, also called photograms, was a method that was developed by Man Ray in Paris. The term "rayography" results from the combination of his last name and photography. By manipulating light and objects on light -sensitive paper, he managed to create photos without using a camera. By using this new approach, traditional photography receives a surrealistic character, as its famous Untitled Rayographer from 1922 shows.

Rayographies created by Ray do not resemble conventional procedures. By manipulating light and objects, he managed to create abstract and irrational compositions, and he made an important contribution to the surrealistic revolution. Through his research in rayography, Ray turned away from painting and accepted direct control of light as the most important form of artistic expression .

With the solarization, which he had accidentally came across together with Lee Miller, Ray was finally managed to free himself from the monotony of everyday life. Through strong overexposure, it was possible for the two photo artists to partially or completely reverse the image density, which ultimately led to photos with inverted tone values.

In the 1920s, Ray was created his most important photographic works, the names of which are still known to the artists today:

• "The Enigma of Isidore Ducasse" or "The Riddle" (1920)
• "Marquise Casati" (1922)
• "Le Violon d'Ingres" (1924)
• "Noire et Blanche" (1926)
• "Larmes (Tears)" (1930-32)
• "L'œuf et le coquillage" (1931)
• "A l'heure de l'Orservatoire - Les Amoureux" (1933)

To name just a few.

At the beginning of this time, Ray had been thoroughly dealt with in his home country with American Dadaism and had become his main representative. He considered the New York art scene of the time to be ignorant in contrast to the progressive art world in Europe, in 1922 he followed his friends Picabia and Duchamp to Paris .

Here he probably portrayed all the important artists of the time. These portraits are also in demand today. Above all, however, he turned nude photography . In addition to his most famous work "Le Violon d'Ingres", numerous famous nude photos in the surreal or fantastic arrangements, for which he was known for.

Ray also dealt with fashion and portrait photography and made a practically complete photographic documentation of the celebrities of the Paris cultural life in the 1920s and 30s. Many of his photographs were published in magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, VU and Vogue.

Man Ray's influence on modern photography

Regardless of the highlights of his work mentioned, the life path of Man Ray is characterized above all by one thing: it never limited himself to a medium, he not only photographed, but also painted, made objects and films, and it was always surrounded by many artists of his time and was open to new influences.

So you could have a decisive influence on modern photography. However, he is also attributed to stylistic influences on modern film and the anticipation of ideas that should be celebrated in painting a little later. As it is due to a man who claims to be

had an aversion to paintings in which no room remained for his own considerations ”.

Because of his tireless will to experiment and break new ground, Ray is considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. His work has a significant impact on a large number of artistic currents and genres.

Surrealism and experimental film are two genres, to which Ray is attributed as a pioneer in the field of photography. He made significant contributions to the development of techniques such as rayography and solarization, both of which had a lasting influence on the avant -garde photography movement. Therefore, many of his classic photographs served as a source of inspiration for subsequent generations of photographers.

It is also possible to observe Ray's influence on painting and object art. His readymades not only had an impact on Dadaism, but also on later trends like the pop art . His “ready-Mades” had the ability to put everyday materials in a new and often provocative context. Marcel Duchamp, whose work was closely linked by MAN Ray, is one of the artists who were part of the pioneers of these progress.

In the following small video you can see the grave of Man Ray and some of its most impressive photographs:

MAN RAY overview on Pinterest

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Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza. Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

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