Man Ray (1890 – 1876) has long been considered one of the
most versatile and innovative artists of the twentieth century. As a painter,
writer, sculptor, photographer, and filmmaker, he is best known for his
intimate association with the French Surrealist group in Paris during the 1920s
and 30s, particularly for his highly inventive and unconventional photographic
images.
Until recently, Man Ray’s contribution to the history of
American modernism has been largely overlooked. The majority of critics have
found his work derivative or, for those with an even more myopic vision, little
more than a pastiche of work by more accomplished painters and sculptors. The
issue of influence is one that Man Ray was well aware of, and for which he had
established a simple defense: “I had never worried about influence. There had
been so many – every painter whom I discovered was a source of inspiration and
emulation…sufficient that I chose my influences – my masters”
The "problem" of Man Ray begins with the matter
that he cannot be classified as an artist in one genre. Painter, photographer,
filmmaker printmaker, object-maker, poet, essayist, philosopher - his
eclecticism flaunts the ground rules of art history. Man Ray is a chain of
enigmas. Paradoxes characterize each phase of his long and complex career and
combine to make him the quintessential modernist personality.
http://www.manray.net/
Catherine Deneuve, 1968
Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924
http://www.manray-photo.com/catalog_gp/index.php?language=en
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