While taking a detour trip to the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin to see the exhibition on Surrealism, I found myself struck by all of the Surrealist portraits that Man Ray took. The Neue Nationalgalerie had placed a selection of his photos along the wall before you entered the exhibit. The legend of “Man Ray” as photographer was common knowledge to me, but I never knew the extent of his artwork.
While back in Pont Aven, I started to research Man Ray and who he photographed for portraits. It seemed as if you were anyone important in the art world, Man Ray took your portrait. The Dadaists Surrealists were a main portion of the photographs, but this is probably because Man Ray himself was a part of this group. As I delved into his art works, I was blown away by all of the different mediums that he used and explored.
Man Ray’s resumé of art work includes painting, drawing, cinema and 3D objects (usually found objects). When looking at his other works, I saw the influence of Surrealism as a more prominent factor throughout. Man Ray dappled in all of these mediums and was successful in them as well. Besides his photography, I really love his 3D objects and of his cinema, I have only seen “Le Retour A La Raison” (The Return To Reason) which I enjoyed.
His breadth in photography is nonetheless astounding. Not only was he taking photos of the Dada and Surrealist artists, he was also taking photos of other influential people of that time: Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Jean Cocteau, Bridget Bate Tichenor, Antonin Artaud and others posed for his camera. Plus, Man Ray used photography to further his own Surrealist art. Creating dream-like settings and surreal ideas, Man Ray used the camera as a medium rather than simply a tool to document.
Leading the way through this media, Man Ray created a new type of photography. Without the use of the camera, Man Ray created photos by using light-sensitive paper, objects and a light source. This avant-garde technique of the photogram was coined “rayograph” by none other than Man Ray himself. No one knows for sure how he made some of these rayographs, but here is a brief explanation on how to make photograms: In the dark room you would take light-sensitive paper and place any kind of object on top. Then you would turn on the lights and wherever the object blocked the light source from the paper would be white and whatever the light touched on the paper would be black. In these simplified terms, the rayographs would seem to anyone who hasn’t seen them to be nothing special. What Man Ray does with this seemingly simple technique is extraordinary.
All without the use of the camera, Man ray created these often elaborate and artistic images. This last image (one of my favorites) I believe is currently at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. When I leave from pont Aven, I will probably be spending most of my waking hours in this museum and I know a good part of those hours will be looking at this rayograph and any others they might have by Man Ray.
While researching his rayographs I badgered my fellow photography friends here at PASCA as to how he could have created some of these images. I am still fully engrossed in this idea of how the light and the light-sensitive paper work with each other. Talking with my friends, I’ve come to realize that the possibilities are endless. The objects blocking the light source don’t always have to be touching the paper which will give this X-Ray effect. Plus, depending on how thick the object is (or if it’s clear like a glass vase), you can create intricate designs and illusions. I have not yet had the pleasure of creating my own photograms, but I hope to experiment soon!
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