Man Ray

Man Ray (born, August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976 as Emmanuel Radnitzky) was an American modernist artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements. As well as being a photographer he was a painter, a writer, a film maker and sculpter.

Man Ray himself said photography wasn’t about using or developing a technique for the sake of doing so, but because he felt that doing so genuinely creating interesting images. “I have always preferred inspiration to information”  (Man Ray)

He tried to create surrealist images using solarisation, cropping and various development techniques to create a surreal effect in his photos. Some of these images become known as Rayogrammes, pictures produced on photographic paper without using a camera. This was achieved by placing the subject directly on top of photographic paper and then exposing the whole thing to light. The resulting image is effectively the shadow of the subject.

I like Man Ray’s work cause I can appreciate the skill required to create them, although I don’t approve of the way he has used women in photography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This here is one of man rays Rayogrammes.   It could be these are tools that he used on a day to day basis in the dark room, however I am also aware that he frequently used objects familiar to him related to his parents occupation as a tailor. The technique used is explained above.

                                                                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This here is called Les Larmes (Glass tears) (1932). I recognize this image because I have seen it many a times. When I look at this, this actually looks like a film still of a actress of the 1930's but from my research on this image it is actual a mannequin that he has used and  demonstrates his interest in cinematic narrative. 

 

 

 



 This is an image of Ray's assistant Lee Miller. I like this image because of the technique that he has used, it is solarisation which renders part of a photographic image negative and part positive by exposing a print or negative to a flash of light during development. Man Ray and his assistant stumbles on this technique by accident but developed it and used it to great effect as this picture demonstrates. I have heard of solarisation before, in films and pictures and I like it because I think it produces a nice image.