Man Ray in Paris /anglais

by GARCIA ERIN C.

Man Ray arrived in Paris from New York in 1921 and was to stay there until 1940. As a painter he sought out the Parisian avant-garde and soon became an influential figure in the Dada and Surrealist movements; and as a photographer he was able to earn a living. Following an illustrated introduction, this book reproduces 74 photographs, including portraits, ‘rayographs†and experiments such as solarization, that illustrate Man Rayâ€s seminal role in elevating photography to an art form.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2011

Reviews

[Vanessa]

This slim volume collects Man Ray's photography mainly from 1920-1940. Seeing it all together, it's amazing how much he influenced our visual references through the 1950's and 60's. Take a look at his collection "Electricite", which was, amazingly, a series commissioned by a French electric company in 1931 to promote domestic use of electricity. I know, it's hard to imagine someone needing to promote that in the first place and then hiring a famous Surrealist for the job.

Also included are his experiments with Rayographs (the technique he created of placing objects on photographic paper and exposing them to light) and solarization (exposure of a developing picture to light resulting in partial and unpredictable reversal of tones.) Gorgeous.

Of course, Man Ray mainly made his living as a portrait taker and although that was his least favorite way to use his camera, his pictures pretty much capture the artistic community of 1920's Paris: James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, Joan Miro, Marcel Duchamp (whom he sometimes photographed in drag-Paris in the 1920's really was a far cooler place to be than the US.)

I was surprised how sexually frank some of his photographs were for the time. Check out "La Priere", a picture from 1930 that is composed of a close-up of woman's kneeling hind-quarters with her hands strategically positioned.

The text and information are good and the reprints are lovely. The emphasis really is on the visuals of Man Ray's work. I would have liked a little more background information on some of the pieces but c'est la vie.

[Tasha]

If Man Ray's life had a face, I would punch it.

[Robyn]

A brief, but lovely, introduction to Man Ray and his photographic work in Paris. While he worked in a wide range of media throughout his career, only the photographic work of Paris (1921-37) is featured within these pages. Includes 74 plates (3 in color), all of which are in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

[David Ward]

Man Ray in Paris by Erin C. Garcia (Getty Publications 2011) (779.0). Famed artist Man Ray (1890-1976) worked in various media during his long career, mainly in paint, sculpture, film, collage, and photography. Though he viewed himself principally as a painter, he is often remembered for his innovative work in photography. This book is a collection of his photographic plates during the 1920's and 1930's while he was residing in Paris. This work, in my opinion, can be categorized as “subtly hallucinatory.” My favorites from this collection are both representative of his work with color photography: Untitled (Still Life for Book Cover) and Untitled (Butterflies). My rating: 7/10, finished 5/12/16.

[Daniel]

I did not know much about Man Ray before reading Man Ray in Paris. All I knew was that he was a photographer.

For Man Ray in Paris I learned that he was also a painter and made films. The book had about 10 pages of text and the rest is pictures that Man Ray took.

My favorite picture from the book is Sunflower with bee, 1925. Since I like sunflowers and I like bees I thought it was a great photo of both.

I learned about two types of photography from reading Man Ray in Paris. Solarization and Rayographs. Very interesting.

I think this is the first book with mostly photographs that I have read. And I enjoyed it. Its much easier to look at photographs than read text.

[Suzanne Mot]

I didn't know much about Man Ray and this book shed some light on this matter. There is not a lot of text but the few paragraphs in the book talk the essential about Man Ray's like and work. More emphasis is put on his artistic approach, which didn't include only photographs. There are a lot of images specific to each of the styles adopted. This book also shows/tells why he was important for the surrealism movement.

[Sue Viola]

Informative book, I highly recommend it.

[Frances Wilde]

A really beautiful book that succinctly gives an overview of Man Ray's time in Paris/ career, and the vast array of his work and style.

[Lauren]

I've been researching modern art lately, so when I saw this book at the public library on a display table, I felt it was kismet. One of my particular interests are the Dadaists, and this book gives good details about the Parisian scene, and the relationship between Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. I like seeing how their work influenced the other with various readymades and assemblages. The biography section was a bit skimpy - I would have liked more detail - but the plates were great, showing the breadth and quality of his work. I particularly liked the section and selections of rayographs.

[Jennie]

Two of my favourite things in one book.

He was such a visionary and futurist. I love his self portrait and was happy to see his face.

Great for photography fans.

Check it out!