Man Ray Case Study

Growing up near a city filled with museums, I was lucky enough to be exposed to amazing works of art. My visits to the Frick Collection, housed in one of the only remaining Gilded Age mansions in New York, have clearly been my favorite throughout the years. In that special ambiance, I discovered the glowing and extraordinarily clear tranquil paintings of Johannes Vermeer. I was drawn to the three Vermeer masterpieces in the permanent exhibit. The personal qualities of both the mansion and the paintings captured my fascination and I returned frequently. With extraordinary clarity, Vermeer was able to capture objects precisely through light and space. At first I wasn’t sure why his paintings appeared so different from the other works of his time, but I soon realized they were infused with light and

Uelsmann’s work was not well received in the photography community. His creations were not considered photography; however, he was well received in the art community. John Szarkowski hosted a solo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1967. Uelsmann was considered “iconoclastic” and “set out to convince critics that photography offered alternatives to the conventional “purist” sensibility…” Uelsmann debated that photos could “evoke elusive states of feeling and thinking triggered by irrational and imaginative juxtaposition” (Kay). Uelsmann has succeeded in finding a following among photographers and artist alike. In the past forty years, Uelsmann’s work has been exhibited in over 100 solo shows throughout the US and overseas. He has permanent instillations in museums worldwide (Taylor). Uelsmann’s photos are now revered for their original technical form as well as their surreal matter (Johnson).

One of the reasons I enjoyed this exhibit so much is because several pieces involved the viewer. There were two artworks of similar style that I was immediately drawn to, which I later noticed were by the same artist. Adam Fuss is the creator of these colorless photographs and though they share similar physical characteristics they have different meanings. “Untitled” (2002) was an image of a skull and “Home and the World” (2010) showed an image of a mattress. From a distance, I saw what looked like shiny aluminum surrounded by a picture frame. As I got closer I could see an image almost jumping out towards me, but only when the light was hitting it at a certain angle. I could also see my reflection in this mirror-like creation. This type of art is called a daguerreotype and is one of the earliest forms

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but maybe they are worth far more than that. Pictures, although seemingly simple in nature, are extremely complex. Far too often, people overlook what a picture truly is. When a person looks at an image, they most likely see only the image, nothing else. Many people do not look deep enough into an image to fully comprehend the true meaning of it. However, when an individual begins to truly study an image in an attempt to understand the true complexity of it, they will be surprised at what they overlooked before. As stated by French Realist Painter, Gustave Courbet, “Fine art is knowledge made visible.”

The photograph is a very powerful medium. The French painter Paul Delaroche exclaimed upon seeing an early photograph “from now on, painting is dead!” (Sayre, 2000). Many critics did not take photography seriously as a legitimate art form until the 20th century. With the

He later began a career as a fashion photographer taking Pictures for popular Paris magazines. While in Paris, Ray produced brilliant work, which we know today as Rayo Grammes. Which are images created on a piece of paper, light is exposed then the image is produced. Another popular work of Man Ray is Violin D’ingres. The photograph features Kiki, Ray’s lover’s naked back. It was inspired by a painting from French artist Jean August Dominique. To add a twist Man Ray added two black shapes that appear to be musical instruments. Ray also experimented with solarization, which is reverse imaging, creating a photographic image from a negative form. His photographic innovations influenced other avant-garde photographers, such as André Kertesz and Brassai, and apprentices Berenice Abbott and Lee Miller. Even though he was successful as a photographer, Man Ray always considered himself, primarily, a painter. His work was foundational for avant-garde artists in both Europe and America, and he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. Man Ray also made short films between 1923 and

The use of geometric shapes in this painting allows the subject to be viewed in both a recognizable and unrecognizable state at the same time. Overall, geometric shapes and patterns play an essential role in what the viewer sees, which is further supported by a powerful color palate.

It is said that “The true content of a photograph is invisible, for it derives from a play not with form but with time”. This makes me think that the real content of a picture, which is what the photographer tried to express, is not evident to perceive unless an explanatory text is provided. In fact, I believe that our perceptions of pictures changes over time as the historical context do. In addition, our opinions are never fixed as they are influenced by our environment. Therefore, when looking at a particular picture at a given time, it is certain that our perception of it will be different in the future based on what happen between the first time and second time we saw it.

Ray became famous for his portraits of his artistic and literary associates. He also began a career as a fashion photographer, taking pictures for a magazine called Vogue. Ray found a new way to create interesting images by accident in his darkroom. Called "Rayographs," these photos were made by placing and manipulating objects on pieces of photosensitive paper. Ray had a unique style, he took most of his pictures in black and white and they had an odd look, they had some of naked women, and some with girls crying, but the tears are solid and stiff, he mostly use women in his photographs, the pictures he had taken are very hard

Photographs are also manifestations of time and records of experience. Consequently, writings on photographic theory are filled with references to representations of the past. Roland Barthes (1981, 76), for instance,

(Harris & Zucker, n.d.) One of his main artistic styles is to pay attention to the objects underlying shapes-triangles, trapezoid, rectangle. Shapes are found in most of

Barthes goes on to note that this intelligibility is ‘virtual’ as everyone in a ‘real’ society always has more than just anthropological knowledge and would have to perform the conscious act of ‘deleting’ any connotive associations. The notion of the ‘pure state’ of a denoted message may be a ‘utopian’ ideal in light of the above, however Barthes states that photography is potentially closer to achieving this ideal than drawing

Benjamin’s death in 1940 at the age of 48, is rumored to be a suicide when the Naza’s took office, but is still a mystery. His ideas and concepts however, would live on for decades to come. Much of what he wrote about when discussing art came essentially after the development of photography and film. In his work, “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin addresses his perception of the changes in art and the aesthetic experience congruent with societal changes. He writes with concern of how the great artworks are viewed after the introduction of photography and film. His idea of mechanical reproduction changed the art world as society knew it, particularly in how the public views artwork and the value of that work as more and more people are able to own, view and discuss it. This paper will specifically look at aspects of Benjamin’s groundbreaking essay and how educators can relate his ideas to the practices in their art classrooms.

In 1915 the concept of “readymade” art was introduced by Marcel Duchamp when he took an ordinary snow shovel and painted the title In advance of the broken arm. He had previously turned a wheel up-side down and attached it to a stool, creating a piece he called Bicycle wheel. This was also considered a “readymade.” A “readymade” by Duchamp is “an ordinary object elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist.” Duchamp produced many of these “readymades,” but it his readymade entitled Fountain that we will be discussing here. Duchamp’s Fountain originated from a urinal that he with two other friends purchased from a plumber, took to his studio, and turned it on its backside. He painted the pseudonym “R. Mutt” on

Marcel Duchamp’s [1887-1968] influence on the modern art world is universally recognized. His legacy remains even today unparalleled; th