“I draw what cannot be photographed. I photograph what I don’t want to paint—things that have their own existence.”
© Man Ray

In 1890, a boy named Emmanuel Radnitsky was born into a Jewish family, who many years later entered the history of art of the 20th century as a famous photographer and artist Man Ray.

It seems that the young man’s love for creativity only grew stronger as he grew older. While still at school, Man escaped from boring lessons to once again visit the museum and look at the works of his favorite masters. Walking through the halls, the boy indulged in dreams that one day he too would become great and be the star of an exhibition of avant-garde rebels. This daring desire in an instant turned the youthful consciousness of Man Ray, and he began to lay own way into art, knowing firmly what result he wants to achieve in the end. After graduating from school, Man refused the scholarship that gave him the opportunity to study as an architect, and plunged headlong into the “pool” of the bohemian life of artists.

The young master had a unique talent to transform any object that his imagination “touched” into a masterpiece top level. He always strived for a synthesis of genres, knew how to combine the incongruous and was able to break any traditions.

Of course, for this a person needs a lot of experience, extraordinary talent and extrinsic motivation. The last role was played perfectly by the events of 1913, when Man Ray visited the international fair in New York contemporary art"Armory Show", where I met. After this, the two artists were connected by 55 years of friendship, the Dadaist society and love for Parisian bohemian life. Man Ray dedicated the portrait “Rrose Sélavy” to his faithful comrade and ally, which was considered a kind of experimental mixture and painting.

But after Man Ray left for Paris, women became the main subject of his works. He was loved by completely unusual, creative and sometimes very strong ladies. One of them was Alice Prien, better known as Kiki de Montparnasse. This girl drove many geniuses crazy, and everyone was sure that she would never have a relationship with someone ordinary and useless. Therefore, by becoming a model for Man Ray, who had fallen passionately in love with Kiki, she gave him significant weight in the new society.

The next seven years were among the most fruitful for the artist in terms of the number of works created, but not in terms of material benefits. His works were not commercially successful, and the first personal exhibition turned out to be a disaster, and Ray decided to change his brushes to a lens.

He photographed his friends, relatives, passersby and, of course, his beloved. Kiki became the muse that Ray immortalized in the image of “Ingres the Violin.” Man turned with the help of two black signs female body in refined musical instrument, which Ingres loved to play.

So the photographer emphasized that Kiki is impeccable, but sometimes she is far from him and can belong to someone else. One of latest works became lovers famous photograph“Black and White”, where the girl’s face is contrasted with an African mask.

When the young people separated, Man Ray quickly found solace in Lee Miller. This girl burst into the life of a photographer, boldly declaring that she wanted to become a student famous master. When Ray explained that he was planning to leave Paris soon, she boldly stated: “I know, I will go with you”.

This was followed by three years of close collaboration, during which the photographer created several portraits of the girl and the “Indestructible Object” design. Ray advised taking a metronome and gluing an eye cut out from a photograph of the person calling to the top of it. strong emotions, stop the device with your hands, and then, taking careful aim, hit it well with a hammer. This is how the master taught to express feelings through action, which in his case meant one thing - Ray was angry with Lee.

The reason for this was the no less daring departure of the girl, who declared her desire to start her own career as a photographer, quickly married an Egyptian businessman and forgot about the unfortunate artist. After this Ray created famous photograph“Glass Tears” as an allegory about the runaway Miller and her fake feelings.

Then Jacqueline Goddard, who was called the most beautiful woman of all. The photographer created his own image of a blonde seductress and created photographs with an inversion effect, when everything black seems white, and everything white looks like black.

This result was unexpected even for Ray himself. The master was delighted with what he saw and decided to continue his experiments. He never knew what awaited him in the end, but he was not afraid to feel his way. Man did not resort to traditional materials or techniques, so he often bought expired film and did unthinkable things with it that would seem absurd to others.

This path of an innovator became the main vector of all the work of Man Ray, who, with the help of photography, managed to erase the boundaries between the real and the artificial. A friend once came to the master and said that he had fallen in love with one of the models who posed for nude photographs. Man happily decided to introduce his friend to this beauty, who turned out to be a plaster copy of the Venus de Milo.

His unexpected experiments led to the emergence of a method that is today called radiography. If we talk about the technical side, the technique of photographing without a camera was invented a long time ago, but it was Man Ray who saw a work of art in an image created under the influence of a chiaroscuro flash of an object located on clean slate photosensitive paper. The photographer was the first to discover the solarization effect, the essence of which is that when the negative is overexposed, a black stripe appears around the lens, outlining the object and making it silver.

In this direction the photographs “Kiss”, “Superiority of Essence over Mind” and own portrait. Later, Man Ray created the Susie Solidor and Meret Oppenheim series, in which the surreal idea of ​​formlessness faded into the background, and female figures look like bright appliqués on a white background.

On the work of Man Ray different times influenced by 20 years of living in France, which he left a few days before the occupation, and the years spent in the USA. Here he was waiting for a meeting with Juliette Brauner, who became his muse and wife, and success, which did not take long to arrive.

But the master still felt discomfort and dreamed of returning to Paris. Although a double trap awaited him here: in the USA they knew about him only as an artist and sculptor, and in France they remembered him exclusively as a photographer.

Ray expressed his attitude and demonstrative desire for freedom in the work “Self-Portrait”. The work is a bronze casting of the author's lifetime mask, placed in a wooden box in the shape of a coffin. The mask is packed with crumpled newspapers on all sides as a hint that the artist will always be alive, but critical articles and it’s time to bury one-sided thinking.

There will always be people who look only at the technique of execution - their main question is “how”, while others, more inquisitive, are interested in “why”. For me personally, an inspiring idea has always meant more than other information.

Man Ray born on August 27, 1890 into a Jewish family that had recently emigrated to America from the Kovno province Russian Empire. In 1897, the family moved to New York and settled in Brooklyn. At that future time famous artist and the photographer's name was Emmanuel Radnitzky - only in 1912 did his parents, fearing anti-Semitic attacks, change their last name to Ray. Twenty-two-year-old Emmanuel, whom relatives and friends called Manny, took the name Man. Soon they began to call him Man Ray, without dividing these two words into a first and last name.

Man Ray became interested in painting early and, having received a high school diploma, decided to become an artist. In his first works one can notice the imitation of old masters, but soon he was captured by new avant-garde trends that literally tore apart the art of the early 20th century. The young man often visited the “291” gallery - at that time one of the most influential galleries of modern art, he experimented a lot, tried himself in abstraction, cubism, and futurism. He was the first to use a paint sprayer in painting, introducing it into use by artists under the name airbrush. The first exhibition took place in 1915 young artist; in the same year, together with Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabio, he became an active participant in the Dada movement in New York, greatly contributing to the spread of this extremely important movement for 20th-century art in the United States.

His friend and colleague Marcel Duchamp made his name famous by working in the “ready-made” technique, which, with some approximation, can be translated into Russian as “Technique of ready-made objects.” Let's say, in 1917, he took an ordinary urinal, placed it on a pedestal, signed and dated it (just like an artist in a painting) and presented it at an art exhibition under the name “Fountain”. Two years later, he purchased a small reproduction of Mona Lisa, painted on a mustache and goatee, and thoughtfully named his creation “L.H.O.O.Q.” and... also brought it to the public's attention. The scandal was stunning, but even more grandiose was the success - both of the artist himself and of the new direction in art.

Man Ray tried to keep up with his older comrade, although his “ready-mades” were much less scandalous. So, for example, in 1920, he took a sewing machine and an umbrella, packed them in thick burlap, tied it all with rope and, of course, placed this work in art gallery. Of course, no one could understand what kind of structure this was, and the name “The Mystery of Isidore Dukas” did not bring much clarity. But she wasn’t needed!

In 1920, Man Ray and Duchamp published the review “New York Dada” - according to the authors’ plans, this was to be the first issue periodical, however, due to a number of organizational and financial difficulties, the second issue of the magazine was never published. “Dada cannot live in New York,” said the disgruntled artist, and in 1921 he left for Paris.

In the Old World, Man Ray entered the circle of the best representatives of the European avant-garde and received recognition as one of the largest Dadaists and surrealists. He participated in exhibitions and maintained close relationships with Tristan Tzara, Jean Cocteau, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Paul Eluard, Pablo Picasso, Andre Breton, and many other representatives of the artistic elite. His range of interests was very wide: painting, collages, finished objects. Among them, "The Gift" is Man Ray's most famous non-photographic work, marking his transition from Dada to Surrealism. The artist took an iron, glued fourteen copper nails to its sole and called this little useful structure “Gift.” The iron was exhibited at Man Ray's first Paris exhibition, gained well-deserved fame, but by the end of the exhibition disappeared without a trace - later Man Ray made several original copies, one of which is kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The first experiments with photography date back to the early 1910s; at that time, the young artist used a camera to photograph his own works. Many years later, perhaps somewhat exaggerating, he would write: “Only by photographing my paintings did I discover what was hidden in them.” In 1914, he purchased his own camera and, using advice, quickly mastered it. At first, he photographed relatives and acquaintances, gallery visitors looking at paintings and, of course, artists - by the way, it was with such a photograph that his friendship with Marcel Duchamp began. Every year the young man became more and more interested in the new opportunities that photography opens up for creative people. While still in New York, he experimented a lot - he moved the camera during exposure, smeared the lens with gel, and built his compositions from the most unexpected objects. However, Man Ray's pre-Paris experiments were nothing more than an "artist's quest." And having arrived in Paris, as we have seen, Man Ray was in no hurry to exchange his brush for a camera.

Man Ray was inspired to take up photography professionally... by necessity. Despite the success, despite the crowds of people visiting his exhibitions, the young artist could not sell anything. He offered the services of a photographer to his artist friends - he photographed their work; them at work or after it; their mistresses, wives, children and clients and so on and so forth. The circle was constantly expanding, Man Ray received more and more profitable and prestigious orders: he soon became one of the most sought-after and highly paid Parisian photographers.

Soon a very important meeting took place in Man Ray's life. “One day I was sitting in a cafe,” he later recalled, “and the waiter appeared to take my order. Then he approached a table where some girls were sitting, but refused to serve them: they were not wearing hats. A terrible scandal broke out." Man Ray invited the girls to his table and ordered them drinks. This is how he met Kiki de Montparnasse (real name Alice Pren), famous singer and a model, a real queen of Parisian bohemia - for example, Ernest Hemingway said that she had no less influence than the English queen. Soon Kiki became the photographer's muse, his model and lover. This alone made him famous - in the eyes of Parisians, the chosen one of Kiki de Montparnasse a priori could not be mediocrity or mediocrity.

In 1924, Man Ray published one of the most famous works photographic art - a collage image of Kiki under the surreal title “Ingres’ Violin” (“Le Violin d’Ingres”). It is difficult to say anything intelligible about this photograph, it is difficult to translate it into words. Moreover, the image is least of all a photograph of nudes , I dare say that Kiki plays the same role in it as the iron in “The Gift” or the umbrella in “The Mystery of Isidore Dukas.” clean water, more of a portrait inner world the artist than the reality around him. In this case, the camera is nothing more than a means of revealing this world; Man Ray could just as easily have used a pencil or a brush.

However, one should not think that all of Man Ray's photographic images were surreal objects. Many of his works were photographs of nudes; he knew how and loved to work with them. In addition to Kiki, he photographed many others - from ordinary models to famous representatives of Parisian society and demimonde. “The nude has always been one of my favorite subjects in both painting and photography. And I admit that it's not just for artistic reasons." These words could be signed by, say, Helmut Newton, Bob Carlos Clark or any other famous or not so famous photographer or artist.

In 1929, Man Ray was approached in a bar by pretty girl: “My name is Lee Miller,” she said, “I’m your new student.” He replied that he was not taking students, and that he was actually going to leave. “I know,” the petitioner was not embarrassed, “I’m going with you.” Thus began a period of collaboration and love between two talented photographers. “We lived together for three years,” Lee Miller later recalled, “My name was Madame Man Ray, that’s how they do it in France.”

Their cooperation was very fruitful. At first, Lee Miller only developed and printed photographs, then she began to assist her boss in the studio or even took photographs on her own, so it is quite possible that some of the works of the early 1930s bearing the name of Man Ray were made by his “student”. In 1932, she left for New York: her teacher suffered greatly and even threatened to commit suicide, but soon found himself a new model and assistant.

From the very beginning of his photography career, Man Ray constantly experimented with new techniques. In 1922, he rediscovered the method of creating photographic images without a camera. “At night I developed the newly exposed plates,” he recalled, “and the next day, in the evening, I began to print. Apart from baths and bottles with chemical solutions, beakers and a box of photographic paper, I had no other laboratory equipment. I simply placed large glass negatives onto a sheet of photographic paper laid out on a table and illuminated by a red light. I lit the lamp hanging from the ceiling for a few seconds, and then developed the photographs. It was during this development that I came across a way to take photographs without a camera: I called such photographs “rayographs.” Under the negatives, among the already exposed sheets, there was one blank, unexposed one. First I exposed several sheets of paper to the light, which I developed together later. I waited in vain for several minutes for the image to appear. Regretting that I had ruined the paper in vain, I mechanically placed a glass funnel, a beaker and a thermometer in the bath on top of the wet paper. I turned on the light: an image appeared before my eyes. But these were not simple outlines of objects: they were deformed and refracted by more or less contact with the paper glass objects, and the part directly exposed to the light stood out in relief against a black background. I remember that as a child I once put fern leaves in a frame. By exposing them to the sun, I got a white negative of these leaves. My radiographs were based on the same principle, but they added a three-dimensional effect and a whole range of values.”

Another discovery of the photographer, also known long before him, but practically unused, was solarization - interesting effect, which is obtained by repeated exposure of the negative. He turned solarization into artistic technique, as a result of which ordinary objects, faces, and body parts were transformed into fantastic and mysterious images.

In addition to avant-garde photography of various styles and trends, Man Ray became famous as a master of photographic portraiture, as one of best photographers for fashion magazines, collaborating with Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Vu and Vanity Fair. Together with Berenice Abbott, who was his assistant for some time, and then became famous photographer, Man Ray brought the remarkable French photographer Eugene Atget to the attention of the surrealists, and then the wider public.

In 1940, Man Ray returned to the United States. This decision was not easy for him; he constantly postponed his departure until last day hoping for the best: first, that there will be no war; then, that France will remain aloof from military operations; when German troops entered Paris, that he would be able to sit out somewhere in the provinces. Ultimately, the situation became too explosive and Man Ray left for America, leaving in France his house, car, friends, fame as an avant-garde artist and one of the best Parisian photographers, almost all of his paintings (they, thank God, survived) and another great love- young dancer Edie Fidelin.

In America, it was a heavy blow for him to learn that he was known only as a photographer; no one even knew that he had any other artistic talents. Probably out of resentment, Man Ray completely abandoned photography. He painted paintings and even sometimes managed to sell them - but they were not very popular and did not bring in much income. He lived off the capital he brought from France, but, despite the impending lack of money, he refused - with very rare exceptions - offers to return to photographic activity. This is, if not the only one in history, then, according to at least, one of the most bright examples the artist’s rebellion against the mechanical means of art: “I draw what cannot be photographed, what comes from imagination or fantasy,” he said, “I photograph things that I am not interested in drawing: things that already exist.” Or another time: “Creating is a divine destiny, copying is a human destiny.” And he refused the “human” share: he designed chess pieces, painted pictures, and gave lectures. In general, compared to twenty years in France, it was a very calm life.

In 1951, Man Ray and his wife (he married dancer and fashion model Juliette Brauner in 1946) returned to Paris, where he continued to paint and sculpture for a quarter of a century. His reputation as a photographer was still high, despite the fact that he hardly ever picked up a camera. Occasionally, he did some commercial work: for example, in the late 1950s, the Polaroid company hired him to test a new film. He approached the task like a true surrealist - he took a series of photographs, pointing the camera in different directions without aiming, randomly pressing a button.

In the 1940-1950s, Man Ray did not take part in photo exhibitions, considering it beneath his dignity to participate in group ones and not receiving an offer to organize a personal one. In the 1960s the situation changed: in 1961 he received gold medal at the Venice Photobiennale, a year later there was an exhibition in Paris, and in 1966 a retrospective exhibition in Los Angeles. Since then, his exhibitions have been held regularly around the world. In 1999, ARTnews magazine named him one of the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century.

Man Ray died in 1976 in his studio in Paris at the age of 86. The epitaph on his grave reads: “Impartial, but not indifferent.” His wife organized the Man Ray Foundation, which owns the copyright to most of his works, organizes exhibitions, and publishes albums. In 1991, Juliette died; she was buried in the same grave with the epitaph “Together again.”

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Man of the era, classic of world photography, great artist and creator. This is exactly how one can characterize the eldest son of Jewish emigrants - Mani Luria and Meilakh Radnitsky. He was born on August 27, 1890 in Philadelphia, where his family had recently emigrated from the Kovno province of the Russian Empire. They called him Emmanuel. Emmanuel Radnitsky. But this name was not destined to become famous. Seven years later the family moved to Brooklyn, New York. Four more years later, in 1912, due to frequent anti-Semitic attacks, she was forced to change her last name to Ray. Looking ahead, when the young man turned 22, he took the name Man - thus transforming his real name - Emmanuel, Manni. Soon, the name Man Ray began to sound like a single, united name.

Man Ray: masculine, noun.

There will always be people who look only at the technique of execution - their main question is “how”
while others, who are more inquisitive, are interested in the “why.”
For me personally, an inspiring idea has always meant more than other information. Man Ray

Man Ray with early age showed a high interest in painting. Therefore, in 1908, after graduating from school, he decided to become an artist. Early works classics differ in form and content. Young artist, trying to find himself various styles and directions, including cubism, futurism, abstraction. He was the first among the masters to use a paint sprayer, the so-called airbrush, in painting. All his work is imbued with avant-gardeism, which is so inherent in these times. The work of Alfred Stieglitz, then one of the most influential artists, had a great influence on the young man.

In 1915, the artist’s first personal exhibition was held in New York, which, however, did not bring him much popularity or commercial achievements. Around this time, Man Ray acquired a camera, mainly to photograph his creations. In the future, it was his photographic works that would bring him worldwide popularity. Now, under the influence of his associates Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabio, Man Ray plunges headlong into the new Dadaist movement.

In 1920, Man Ray became a co-author of the avant-garde review “New York Dada”, dreaming of making it a periodical. However, the dream was not destined to come true for a number of financial and organizational reasons. Displeased with this turn of events, the artist moves to Paris.
After moving, he successfully participates in various Dada exhibitions, maintains close relationships with many representatives of the European avant-garde, achieves recognition and respect in the field of Dada and surrealism, and his range of interests expands. Among them you can see paintings, Dada objects, and collages. Man Ray's most famous Dada object is the work "The Gift", which is an iron with fourteen copper nails glued to the sole. It’s hard to imagine, but being so popular and well-known, the author’s works do not enjoy commercial success.

This is where his experiments in photography come into play. It turned out that photography can give the author much-needed financial independence. He photographed exhibitions and openings, visitors and the work of artists, his friends and their loved ones. Starting small, Man Ray quickly gained momentum in this field and soon became one of the most sought-after and expensive photographers in Paris. Increasingly, nude images appear in his works, and this will forever remain one of his favorite subjects, both in painting and photography. At the same time, until the end of his days, Man Ray treated photography as a lower form of art.

In 1922, Man Ray discovered a method for creating photographs of images without using a camera. It happened by accident. Among the already exposed sheets, somehow there was one blank, unexposed one. When foreign objects fell on the still wet sheet and the light turned on, the outlines of these objects were displayed on the sheet. He called them nothing else - “reiographs”, and put deep meanings into these paintings that were understandable only to a few.

Another important discovery of the photographer was the effect of solarization, repeated exposure of the negative. The photographs turned out mysterious and the images unique.
A significant event in Man Ray's life was his meeting with famous singer and model Kiki de Montparnasse. She was so popular and influential that, having become a model and also the author’s mistress, she brought him considerable fame and respect in the eyes of Parisians.
A collage image of Kiki under the intriguing title “Ingres’s Violin” was published in 1924, and very quickly gained popularity throughout the world.
But don’t think that he only photographed Kiki. Among his models were ordinary people, and representatives of the Parisian elite.

In 1929, Man Ray got a young and pretty assistant, Lee Miller. Their cooperation and warm romantic relationship lasted three years, and were quite fruitful for both. Rumor has it that some of Man Ray's works from the early 1930s were made by her. But in 1932, the girl chose to separate, developing her own career, and left for New York. Man Ray was very opposed to this, but soon found himself a new assistant, Berenice Abbott. Together with her, Man Ray discovered the talent of the young French photographer Eugene Atget to the general public.

To Man Ray’s deep regret, due to the escalating military situation, in 1940 he had to return to the United States of America, leaving everything that was most precious to him in Paris - home, work, friends, new young love Edie Fidelin and almost all of his creations.

A big shock for him was the news that in America he was known only as a great photographer. Disappointed by this, Man Ray renounces picking up a camera, and all subsequent years he stubbornly paints, creates sculptures and teaches painting. Of course, all this brings practically no income. He lives thanks to the capital collected in France. Man Ray’s entire attitude towards photography fits into the phrase he once threw out: “To create is a divine destiny, to copy is human.”

The author married the dancer and fashion model Juliette Brauner in 1946. Soon they had a little daughter, Anna. And as soon as the family had the opportunity, namely in 1951, they returned to Paris. There he stubbornly continues to boycott any photographic activity, does not take part in photo exhibitions, and is engaged in painting and sculpture. But even despite this, his reputation as a photographer is still growing.

A new stage in the importance of photography in Man Ray's life begins in 1961, when he receives a gold medal at the Venice Photobiennale. Soon, the author's personal exhibition takes place in Paris, and in 1966 - in Los Angeles. Now Man Ray exhibitions are regularly held around the world. They are organized by the Man Ray Foundation, which was established by his wife after his death. The Foundation owns the copyright to most of his works.

The great creator, artist and photographer died in Paris, within the walls of his native studio in 1976. He was not much or little then - 86 years old. Buried in Montparnasse Cemetery. “Impartial, but not indifferent,” says the epitaph carved on his grave.

Man Ray, real name Emmanuel Radnitsky - American artist, photographer and film director. He invented the “solarization” technique and was the first to experiment with glass and negatives.

Born August 27 1890 1908 By 1912

Start of a career

1910

IN 1924

Photodelo

IN 1922

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Man Ray, real name Emmanuel Radnitzky, is an American artist, photographer and filmmaker. He invented the “solarization” technique and was the first to experiment with glass and negatives.

Born August 27 1890 years in Philadelphia in a Jewish family of emigrants from Russia. A few years later, his family moved to New York. Here Ray studied art during the 1908 By 1912 year: he graduated National Academy drawing in New York, and then attended drawing and watercolor classes at the Ferrer Center. He often went to contemporary art galleries, experimented a lot, tried himself in abstraction, cubism and futurism.

Start of a career

Ray first began experimenting with photography after 1910 year. He photographs relatives, friends, and gallery visitors looking at his own paintings. The artist was forced to take up photography professionally by necessity. At first his work was not in demand, and Ray begins to offer photography services to his friends and artists. The circle of his clients begins to expand every month.

IN 1924 The year one of Man Ray’s most famous works was published – the collage “Ingres’ Violin” (Le Violin d’Ingres). The photographer loved and knew how to work with nudes. He photographed ordinary models and celebrities of Parisian high society.

Photodelo

IN 1922 Man Ray conducted an experiment: he placed large glass negatives on a sheet of photographic paper, illuminated by a red lamp. Turns the lamp on briefly, then turns it off. And develops the photographs. All objects in the photograph are deformed by the glass touching the paper. And what was exposed to the light stood out in relief against a black background.

Solarization is another interesting innovation of the photographer. This is the result of repeated exposure to the negative. At the same time, ordinary objects, faces, and body parts turned into phantasmagoric and mysterious images.

In the thirties, Ray did a lot of photography, creating portraits and surreal clothing designs that were published in the pages of Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Vu and Vanity Fair. IN 1940 Man Ray returned to the United States, where he was known only as a photographer.

IN 1951 year, Man Ray and his wife Juliette Brauner returned to Paris, where he continued his studies in painting and sculpture. To 1960 's Man Ray did not exhibit his work. But after in 1961 year he received a gold medal at the Venice Photobiennale, Ray’s exhibition opened in Paris, and in 1966 year - a retrospective exhibition in Los Angeles.

Man Ray died in 1976 in his studio in Paris at the age of 86.

The most famous works:

1931 Solarisation

1936 Untitled

1945 Juliet & Margaret Nieman