Man Ray Biography and Artwork

born Philadelphia, US August 27,1890 died Paris, France November 18,1976

Man Ray (August 27, 1890–November 18, 1976) was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal.

Best known in the art world for his avant-garde photography, Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. While appreciation for Man Ray's work beyond his fashion and portrait photography was slow in coming during his lifetime, especially in his native United States, his reputation has grown steadily in the decades since.

In 1999, ARTnews magazine named him one of the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century, citing his groundbreaking photography as well as "his explorations of film, painting, sculpture, collage, assemblage, and prototypes of what would eventually be called performance art and conceptual art" and saying "Man Ray offered artists in all media an example of a creative intelligence that, in its "pursuit of pleasure and liberty," Man Ray's stated guiding principles "unlocked every door it came to and walked freely where it would."

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• L'A, 1971
• Meret Oppenheim and Louis Marcoussis, 1933
• Bananas and Plane, 1948
• Coat Stand, 1921

Quotes

• "There is no progress in art, any more than there is progress in making love. There are simply different ways of doing it."
• "I have never painted a recent picture."
• "When I saw I was under attack from all sides, I knew I was on the right track."

Publications

• Man Ray (Aperture Masters of Photography) - by Jed Perl, Man Ray, Aperture; New Ed edition (September 30, 1997)
• Photographs by Man Ray: 105 Works, 1920-1934. - by Man Ray, Dover Publications (January 1, 1980)
• The Essential Man Ray - by Ingrid Schaffner,
• Man Ray Women - by Valerio Deho, Damiani (May 30, 2006)
• Man Ray's Montparnasse - by Herbert R. Lottman, Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 2001)
• Man Ray: Photography and Its Double - by Alain Sayag, Emmanuelle De I'Ecotais, Gingko Press (September 1998)

Quick Facts

• Man Ray was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France.
• He was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements.
• Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned fashion and portrait photographer.
• In 1999, ARTnews magazine named him one of the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century.Man Ray's surrealist art inspired the R.E.M. song, "Feeling Gravity's Pull", on Fables of the Reconstruction. It contains the lines, "It's a Man Ray kind of sky. Let me show you what I can do with it."
• Man Ray and his work are the inspiration for the song "Man Ray" by the British band The Futureheads. The song includes the line: "Touch each other in black and white."
• There is a character called "Man Ray" in SpongeBob SquarePants.
• One famous Man Ray painting was the inspiration for the infamous lips logo of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
• The name of the band Man-Raze is partially a reference to Man Ray.
• The music video for the song "Otherside" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers features the lips from Man Ray's famous painting, The Lovers. The protagonist in the video uses the lips as a pair of wings to escape from his own shadow.
• The closing track on the self-titled debut album by English indie band The Futureheads is titled Man Ray.
• The Sheffield band, The Long Blondes, features a track "Madame Ray" on their debut album, Someone to Drive You Home, which was inspired by Man Ray's lover, Lee Miller. It also refers to the solarization technique rediscovered by her and also used by Man Ray in his photographic work.
• The American band "Damon & Neomi" used Man Rays work "Tears" as the cover for their album "More Sad Hits".
• William Wegman, the famous photographer of weimaraner dogs, named his first and most-photographed dog Man Ray.

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