Man Ray, Self-Portrait, c. 1934 ©2010 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Man Ray, Space Writing (self-portrait with signature)
In 2009 American photographer Ellen Carey carefully examined Ray’s self-portrait and found amid the chaos of light lines the master’s autograph (above left). Carey made a mirror image of the artwork to enable the viewer to see the signature (above right) - both highlighted in red above.
Man Ray (real name Emmanuel Radnitsky) is considered the first to have used a “light pen” or “light brush”. In which a mobile source of light (a small lamp on a wire or a miniature flashlight) is moved by the artist in space. At slow shutter speeds the trajectory of a light bulb is recorded as a glowing trail, hanging unsupported in the air. link
Alice Prin, better known as Kiki de Montparnasse, became a model for sculptors when she was 14, posing for Alexander Calder and Jean Cocteau and later Man Ray. Her defiant and sultry attitude helped define femininity in the 1920’s
Kiki was the toast of Montparnasse at a time when the popular quarter in south Paris welcomed penniless avant-garde artists and bohemian characters. Kiki was not particularly beautiful or elegant, but there was something electric about her: “she was very wonderful to look at”, said Hemingway.
In 1921 she met Man Ray and accepted to pose for him. It was love at first sight. They moved in together to a modern building on rue Campagne Première. Kiki would entertain in her salon the greatest personalities of her time. Matisse, Picasso, Joyce and Gertrude Stein all dropped in.
Elizabeth “Lee” Miller (1907–1977) was an American photographer, fashion model, and WWII war correspondent for Vogue. She was also the assistant, partner and lover of surrealist Man Ray.
In 1929, Lee traveled to Paris with the intention of apprenticing herself to the artist/photographer. While in Paris, she began her own photographic studio, often taking over Man Ray’s fashion assignments to enable him to concentrate on his painting. In fact, many of the photographs taken during this period and credited to Man Ray were actually taken by Lee. Together they rediscovered the photographic technique of solarisation.
9 Surrealists:
Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Joan Miro, Frida Kahlo, Giorgio de Chirico, Rene Magritte, Alberto Giacomette, Yves Tanguy
The Paris surrealists, 1933: Tristan Tzara, Paul Éluard, André Breton, Hans Arp, Salvador Dalí, Yves Tanguy, Max Ernst, René Crevel and Man Ray.
Photo by Anna Riwkin-Brick (Riwick took several photographs of the group)
Man Ray- Autoportrait, vers 1930
