By Debbie Bulloch
Over the past few weeks we have been exploring the writings of several poets. We have also explored the works of singers and composers of popular music. Thanks to Monsieur Odriscoll we have even read about French poets and French popular music.
Now it is time for us to explore the third “P” of this creative triumvirate:
Photography. For our first featured photographer I have chosen of America’s most talented photographers:
Man Ray.
Man Ray, was born
Emmanuel Radnitzky (August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest child of recent Russian-Jewish immigrants. In early 1912, the Radnitzky family changed their surname to Ray, a name selected by Man Ray's brother, in reaction to the ethnic discrimination and anti-Semitism prevalent at that time
Man Ray's father was a garment factory worker who also ran a small tailoring business out of the family home. Man Ray's mother enjoyed making the family's clothes from her own designs and inventing patchwork items from scraps of fabric. Despite Man Ray's desire to disassociate himself from his family background, this experience left an enduring mark on his art. Tailor's dummies, flat irons, sewing machines, needles, pins, threads, swatches of fabric, and other items related to clothing and sewing appear at every stage of his work and in almost every medium. Art historians have also noted similarity in his collage and painting techniques to those used in making clothing.
MAN RAY - SELF PORTRAIT
Man Ray was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements. Best known in the art world for his avant-garde photography, Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media, including painting and photography. He was once quoted as saying, "I paint what cannot be photographed, that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive. I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence."
Man Ray’s most significant work comes from the time he spent in Paris. In July 1921, Man Ray went to live and work in Paris, France, and soon settled in the Montparnasse quarter favored by many artists. Shortly after arriving in Paris, he met and fell in love with Kiki de Montparnasse an artists' model and celebrated character in Paris bohemian circles. Kiki was Man Ray's companion for most of the 1920s. She became the subject of some of his most famous photographic images and starred in his experimental films.
For the next 20 years in Montparnasse, Man Ray made his mark on the art of photography. Great artists of the day such as James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, Bridget Bate Tichenor, and Antonin Artaud posed for his camera. With Jean Arp, Max Ernst, André Masson, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso, Man Ray was represented in the first Surrealist exhibition at the Galerie Pierre in Paris in 1925. Works from this period include a metronome with an eye, originally titled Object to Be Destroyed. Another important work from this part of Man Ray's life is known as the Violin D'Ingres, a stunning photograph of Kiki de Montparnasse, styled after the painter/musician, Ingres. This work is a popular example of how Man Ray could juxtapose disparate elements in his photography in order to generate meaning. Together with Lee Miller, who was his photography assistant and lover, Man Ray reinvented the photographic technique of solarization.
During this time in Paris, Man Ray developed a technique using photograms he called rayographs and which he described as "pure dadaism.” A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The result is a negative shadow image varying in tone, depending on the transparency of the objects used. Areas of the paper that have received no light appear white; those exposed through transparent or semi-transparent objects appear grey.
This method of imaging is perhaps most prominently attributed to Man Ray and his exploration of rayographs. Others who have experimented with the technique include László Moholy-Nagy, Christian Schad (who called them "Schadographs"), Imogen Cunningham and even Pablo Picasso.
The events of World War II, including Germany’s occupation of France, forced Man Ray to leave his beloved Paris. He lived in Los Angeles, California from 1940 until 1951. During that time he lived 2 blocks from the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine at Villa Elaine. During that time Villa Elaine was full of vibrant characters like Orson Welles and Henry Miller. (
Editor’s Note: I have been to visit the Villa Elaine. Although no longer the residence of famous people, Villa Elaine is a charming place. You can go there, as I have, and imagine that you can see famous Hollywood stars. The Villa Elaine is now officially named the "Man Ray Residences" and is a Los Angeles Historical Landmark.)
VILLA ELAINE - HOLLYWOOD, CA - INSIDE COURTYARD
A few days after arriving in Los Angeles, Man Ray met Juliet Browner, a trained dancer and experienced artists' model. He began a long love affair with Juliet that lasted until his death.
During his stay in Los Angeles, Man Ray became involved in the movie business by painting a portrait of Ava Gardner for the film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman by Albert Lewin. Man Ray longed to create his own film production company, but Hollywood never warmed up to him. Man Ray soon became disgruntled with the film industry which only saw him as a “glorified” crew member. In 1951, when his landlord dramatically raised his rent he purchased two tickets for Paris and left Los Angeles for good. He had always called Montparnasse home.
Man Ray died in Paris on November 18, 1976; he was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris. His epitaph reads: unconcerned, but not indifferent. When Juliet Browner died in 1991, she was interred in the same tomb. Her epitaph reads, together again. Juliet set up a trust for his work and made many donations of his work to museums.
Here is a small “gallery” of Man Ray’s work – the most iconic photographer of the 20th century.
A SAMPLE OF A PHOTOGRAM
THIS IS PERHAPS ONE OF MAN RAY'S BEST KNOWN PHOTOGRAPH
ANOTHER TAKE ON THE FEMALE FIGURE
WITH MAN RAY ORDINARY OBJECTS, LIKE THIS METRONOME, TAKE ON A NEW "LIFE"
Hope you enjoyed this tour through the work of one of my favorite photographers. Next week, Ansel Adams.
NOTE: The photographs reproduced here are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). All rights are fully reserved by the copyright holder(s). Any questions, please contact this blog's publisher.
Now for something a tad different. Last Saturday, April 11, a previously unknown singer burst into the music scene with her stunning performance at
Britain's Got Talent. For your listening pleasure, please click the link below. Enjoy!
Susan BoyleHere are the lyrics, so that you may follow along:
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted.
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame.
And still
I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...
I had a dream my life would be
So different form this hell I'm living
so different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.Thank you Buccaneer Braveheart for the link and the suggestion that I post it on the BH blog. Gracias!
