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1890 - 1976

Man Ray

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Man Ray was an American and French artist of Jewish origin, photographer, director, publicist, the most famous representative of Cubism and Dadaism, who played an essential role in the development and dissemination of these and other new trends on the American continent.

The artist’s birth name was Emmanuel Radnitsky. He was the eldest son of Jewish immigrants from Kovno Governorate.

Together with M. Duchamp and F. Picabia, he was the founder of the version of Dadaism in New York and popularised modern European painting among American artists. Man Ray became famous thanks to the art of modern photography and collage, in which nobody could outperform him at that time. The artist also used “ready-made objects” to create large compositions, the most famous of which was the “Gift” of 1924. Man Ray showed himself as a fully gifted person, making a significant contribution to the avant-garde art of the United States and Europe.

Key ideas:

– Even though Man Ray became famous as a talented photographer in his homeland, he considered art to be the most crucial sphere of his activity. The artist’s paintings are different from the traditional pictures of his predecessors.

– Ray was convinced that the primary purpose of the work of art is to express one or another idea and that the picture itself has no meaning without the deep sense embedded in it. At the same time, the image should touch the emotional side of the psyche, excite a person and even shock by something in some way.

– Following his convictions, M. Ray created outstanding works in which strange, unpredictable things; images and silhouettes are often used. A vivid example of this is composition “Ingre’s Violin”, where a naked young woman acts as a musical instrument, or a voluminous work “Gift”, which is a simple iron with sharp buttons glued on its smooth working surface. Such extraordinary works attracted a lot of (sometimes critical) attention to the artist and became the key to his success.

– The most significant achievement of Man Ray was photographic works, in particular, his deep psychological portraits of contemporaries, photographs for fashion magazines and technical experiments with material, such as solarisation and radiography.

– He also discovered an entirely new way of creating compelling images with the help of pieces of photosensitive paper, which he called “rayography. ” These methods of photography, partially distorting the surrounding reality, made a great impression on the Surrealists and served as the basis for their creative experiments. The artist himself said: “I do not take pictures of nature and objects, I take pictures of my visions.”

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1890

1897

1908

1913

1915

1920

1921

1925

1930

1940

1951

1976

The birth of the artist

He was born on August 27, 1890 in Philadelphia, USA.

The artist's family moved to Brooklyn

The artist’s family moved to Brooklyn. In connection with anti-Semitic attitudes, the Radnitskys changed their surname to Ray.

Young Ray was very impressed by the photos

After graduating from high school, Man Ray became actively interested in art and often visited the gallery of Alfred Stieglitz “291”, in which the works of contemporary artists were exhibited. Young Ray was very impressed by the photos of the gallery owner, which had a big impact on his subsequent career.

Visited the exposition "Armory Show"

Visited the exposition “Armory Show” (known as the scandalous “Gun Exhibition”), which featured the works of P. Picasso, W. Kandinsky and H. Matisse. These works made a strong impression on the artist, as a result of which he began to experiment with various avant-garde trends in painting. In the same year, he moved to an art colony in Ridgefield, New Jersey.

He met and became close with M.Dyushan and F.Pikabia

He met and became close with M.Dyushan and F.Pikabia, started working in Dada style. Together with these artists he created a group of Dadaists in New York and became the leading figure of this movement. In the same year, the first personal exhibition of Ray was held at the gallery of Daniel. At the exhibition, thirty paintings and several drawings by the artist were shown.

“New York Dada”

The first issue of “New York Dada” magazine was published. In the same year, together with famous artist Katherine Dreyer, he founded The Societe Anonyme. This was the first association dedicated to the popularization of contemporary art in America, and it preceded the Museum of Modern Art. The artist was carried away by the art of photography and began his famous experiments in this form of creativity.

He moved to Paris

He moved to Paris, where he collaborated with many other artists and art workers. In Europe, Ray got acquainted with the works of other modern photographers, including Eugene Agte. Unlike many Americans who spent a short time in Paris, Ray remained here for the next 20 years and became an influential member of the international Surrealist and Dadaist circles.

Shot several avant-garde films

Together with H. Arp, M. Ernst and P. Picasso he participated in the group exhibition of surreal paintings in Pierre’s Gallery in Paris. Shot several avant-garde films that were successful.

Was actively engaged in creative work

Was actively engaged in creative work. The artist continued to design, create collages, draw and experiment with different types of art. During this period he created many photographs of famous contemporaries, such as S. Dali, J. Miro, P. Picasso and others. One of the most famous was a series of nu works by, a model for which was young artist M. Oppenheim. In addition, Ray made several avant-garde films and was an actor in René Claire’s famous film “Entract”.

Moved to California

He left Europe, where the Second World War had begun, and moved to California. In the USA, the artist taught painting and photography. A year later, he married model and dancer Juliette Brauner. In America, Ray became an extremely popular portrait photographer, to the session of whom it was difficult to come.

The artist concentrated mainly on painting and sculpture

Having returned to Paris, he continued to study various artistic methods. The artist concentrated mainly on painting and sculpture, began to write his memoirs, which were published only in 1965. Man Ray continued to demonstrate his art at various exhibitions in New York, London, Paris and other cities.