Photographs by Man Ray : 105 works, 1920-1934

Le livre

Dada is artistic free-thinking. -- BretonMan Ray (1890-1976), American photographer, painter, designer, sculptor, and filmmaker, arrived in Paris in 1921. Inspired by a unique artistic vision grounded in the deliberate irrationality of Dada and the incongruous vision of Surrealism, Ray created a gallery of striking photographs: unforgettable images that etch themselves into the mind and transform our perceptions of reality. This beautiful large-format volume reproduces on coated stock a rich selection of these works, created amid the intellectual and artistic ferment of the 20s and 30s.To achieve his remarkable effects, Ray experimented with various techniques: over and under exposure, shooting through different fabrics, superimposing images, and zeroing in on tiny details. In his words: The removal of inculcated modes of presentation, resulting in apparent artificiality or strangeness ... is to be welcomed. To preserve the full dramatic impact of his ground-breaking work, Dover has carefully and painstakingly reproduced these photographs from a rare gravure edition. The photographs are divided into 5 groupings:Photos 1-24:general subjects(still lifes, rooms, landscapes, cityscapes, flowers)Photos 25-42:female figures, mainly nudesPhotos 43-66:womens faces(including Gertrude Stein)Photos 67-84:celebrity portraits(Ray, Dalí, Tzara, Sinclair Lewis, Joyce, Eluard, Breton, Derain, Braque, Matisse, Picasso, and others)Photos 85-104:rayographs, cameraless compositions created by resting objects on unexposed filmAlso included in this edition are acclamatory texts by Eluard, Breton, and Tzara in the original French with English translations; a German text by Rrose Sélavy (pseudonymous) with English translation; an Introduction by Ray with French translation, and a portrait of Ray by Picasso.Today, Rays individual photographs command high prices on the collectors market. Indeed, the original edition of this book sells for hundreds of dollars. The publication of thi (...)