Man Ray

Text by Emmanuelle de l’Ecotais, Alain Sayag.
Although Man Ray – an essential artist – always defined himself as a ‘jack of all trades’ and a lazy dilettante, cultivating an aura of casual indifference and rejecting any economic or social constraints, that was actually just a pose masking true professionalism in his photography. A strong technician and veritable craftsman who carefully staged his images, his art is the product of meticulous attention. Double exposures, inversions, solarizations, rayographs and more were not, despite what the artist wanted us to believe, random lucky accidents, but rather the outcome of complex experiments. This book – which includes both a great number of Man Ray’s images, and texts by two of the most renowned specialists in his photography – offers an interpretation of the photographer’s work while inviting us to rediscover Man Ray, craftsman and visionary.

Alain Sayag and Emmanuelle de l’Écotais are recognized specialists in Man Ray’s work. They co-curated the exhibit Man Ray, la photographie à l’envers (Grand Palais, 1998) and co-edited the publication of his catalogue (Le Seuil).