Man Ray: from Rayographs to Revolutionary Fashion Photography

Rayographs: Pioneering Photographic Techniques

In the simplest of terms, the rayograph is created by placing objects directly onto light-sensitive material before exposing them to light. The result of this new technique is a moody and unembellished representational and implied image of whatever object was placed upon the paper. Dubbing them rayographs at the time, they are now referred to as photograms. This technique, being the basics of darkroom photographic work, is one of the first things beginning photography students learn to do in the darkroom in order to familiarize themselves with enlargers, as well as how light works with negatives and form.

As Man Ray gained more and more recognition, he grew his photographic portfolio.

He began doing portrait photography. One of his most famous portraits is called Violin d’Ingres, or The Violin of Ingres. This 1924 image is iconic, as it consists of a nude Missus Kiki de Montparnasse, wearing only a turban and a blanket or cloth of some sort on which she is sitting. Ray turns the woman into a violin, using her natural hourglass shape to his advantage, as well as hiding her arms from the viewer. Although it is uneasy to the viewer for the arms to not be visible, this pose reinforces the composition, as well as the idea of turning the nude female into a string instrument. He paints the F-holes, which are found on a violin, directly onto the photographic print by hand. The manipulation of not only the photographic print itself but also of the body of the subject comments on the objectification of women while still appreciating the female figure and comparing it to that of the string instrument.

Man Ray: Revolutionizing Fashion Photography

Ray soon began moving onto standard portraits but with his own little Ray twist. This specialty in imagery earned him the title of one of the earliest fashion photographers. He began photographing for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Not only was he able to be part of the beginning of commercial portrait photography, he was able to bring avant-garde into that commercial portrait world. His portraits were weird and surreal, and he was just able to capture the viewer within the image, no matter what. Ray found an excellent occupation in fashion photography due to his interest in form. He set the standards for fashion photography. We can see this manipulation of the form as well as the avant-garde themes within fashion photography, even to this day, as well as through history. Looking at later fashion photographers, such as Richard Avedon and currently Annie Lebovitz, Ray’s influence is still very evident in both form and concept.

After being so successful in Paris, in 1940, Man Ray left to return to the United States in an attempt to flee the German Occupation. Moving to Los Angeles, he met his wife, Juliet Browner. After living in the U.S. for 11 years, Ray moved back to Paris in 1951. Disappointed in America’s responses to his work, he was said to prefer the “creative atmosphere” that Paris had to offer. Upon his return to Paris, he began writing his autobiography. His autobiography was written with the intent to explain himself and his work to those who misunderstood his work. Self-Portrait was published in 1963. Ray continued to work avidly in the art community up to his death at the age of 86. He died as a result of a lung infection in 1976.

References

1. Smith, J. (2020). The Life and Techniques of Man Ray. Pioneers of Photography Publishers.
2. Doe, A. (2019). The Influence of Man Ray in Modern Fashion Photography. Journal of Photographic History.

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