Described by André Breton as a "pre-Surrealist", one can say that Man Ray was a surrealist by nature, and that he was in consonance with the visions of the movement, even before its association. Inspired by Sigmund Freud's theories, Surrealism delved for a revolution against the oppressive rules and constraints of the rational mind and methodized society. Supporting the notion that the idea motivating a work of art is more important than the piece itself, this group encouraged experimentation in the search for each artist's way of expression. Man Ray was deeply influenced by these ideas, which seem to have articulated his visions. In his own words: "Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask 'how', while others of a more curious nature will ask 'why'. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information."
Among the many topics animating his creations, two particular sources of inspiration can be cited: tailoring and women. In the case of the former, even if Man Ray was continuously willing to disassociate himself from his family (both his parents were related to garments and tailoring), the imprint of their legacy is clear in his works: needles, threads, pins, sweing machines, flat irons, swatches of fabric and mannequins are some of the items related to tailoring which appear in almost every medium of his work. Besides, Art historians have noted certain similarities between his collage and painting techniques and those used for tailoring. As for the latter, being Marquis de Sade among his favourite authors, his obsession with women incited Man Ray to explore female eroticism and the female form through the eyes of Surrealism.
Even if he is generally regarded as one of the most relevant photographers in history, Man Ray was an integral artist, having explored diverse artistic mediums such as painting, sculpture, prints, film and poetry. Usually referring to himself as a "practical dreamer", his obsession was to explore different possibilities of art and creativity. This quest led him to traverse a wide range of techniques, and even create a new photographic technique know today as Rayogrammes: images created on a piece of photographic paper without a camera, where the subject was placed directly on a piece of paper, being the light exposed and thus the image produced. In this technique the image was produced by the shadow of the object, emphasizing the influence of the light and shadow in the resulting picture. A famous quotation of his seems to encompass his life's work: "It has never been my object to record my dreams, just the determination to realize them."
Even if he is generally regarded as one of the most relevant photographers in history, Man Ray was an integral artist, having explored diverse artistic mediums such as painting, sculpture, prints, film and poetry. Usually referring to himself as a "practical dreamer", his obsession was to explore different possibilities of art and creativity. This quest led him to traverse a wide range of techniques, and even create a new photographic technique know today as Rayogrammes: images created on a piece of photographic paper without a camera, where the subject was placed directly on a piece of paper, being the light exposed and thus the image produced. In this technique the image was produced by the shadow of the object, emphasizing the influence of the light and shadow in the resulting picture. A famous quotation of his seems to encompass his life's work: "It has never been my object to record my dreams, just the determination to realize them."
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