man ray magie

Biography

Man Ray, born Emmanuel Radnitzky in 1890 in Philadelphia, produced his first significant photographs in 1918. He was living in New York, and with his close friend Marcel Duchamp, formed the American branch of the Dada movement, which began in Europe as a radical rejection of traditional art. After a few unsuccessful experiments, and notably after the publication of a unique issue of New York Dada in 1920, Man Ray stated that “Dada cannot live in New York,” and in 1921 followed Duchamp to live in Paris. It was there, for the next twenty years, that Man Ray revolutionized the art of photography.

He did this first by reinventing several techniques—like the rayograph in 1922 and solarization in 1929—and then by pursuing a very different path from his fellow photographers.

While straight photography in the United States and the “new photography” in Europe boasted skilled technique, Man Ray concealed his interest in craftsmanship and invented a surrealist photography.For almost five years he acted as photographic Surrealism’s first and only representative.

He was also part of the photographic “avant-garde”, publishing his pictures in the popular press (for example, the weekly Vu) as well as more specialized magazines (including Les Feuilles Libres, Littérature, and Minotaure).