Man Ray

Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky) was an Amer­i­can visual artist known for his love of exper­i­men­ta­tion which included achiev­ing some extremely inno­v­a­tive results using airbrushes, photo­graphic film, and every­day objects, partic­u­larly during the 1920s and 30s.

Early devel­op­ment stemmed from the Dada move­ment in New York, where he estab­lished himself as a more radical expo­nent. In 1922 he moved to Paris, where he would spend the bulk of his career. There, he would create photograms but famously dub them ​“rayo­graphs.” While photograms were not new, Man Ray embraced the possi­bil­i­ties for irra­tional combi­na­tions and chance arrange­ments of objects, empha­siz­ing the abstrac­tion of images as well as light and shadow rather than subject matter. Around the same time, Man Ray’s exper­i­ments with photog­ra­phy carried him to the center of the emer­gent Surre­al­ist move­ment. Surre­al­ism sought to reveal the uncanny cours­ing beneath regular appear­ances in daily life. 

Man Ray remained an influ­en­tial member of the Avante-Garde and contin­ued to produce fine art into his final years. Man Ray’s work across mediums and asso­ci­a­tion with histor­i­cal move­ments in art and culture has left an indeli­ble stamp on the design and modern art writ large. He is remem­bered around the globe, in partic­u­lar for his artis­tic wit and uniqueness.