Arm
Man Ray’s photograph of an arm is cropped so abstractly that it seems to metamorphose into other body parts—a knee, a calf, a thigh—or into some utterly unidentifiable yet heroic form. This image appeared on the cover of Formes Nues (1935), which also included the work of Brassaï, László Moholy-Nagy, Franz Roh, and George Platt Lynes, among others.
In the magazine’s introduction, Man Ray wrote, "were it not for the fact that photography permits me to seize and to possess the human body and face in more than a temporary manner, I should quickly have tired of this medium."
In the magazine’s introduction, Man Ray wrote, "were it not for the fact that photography permits me to seize and to possess the human body and face in more than a temporary manner, I should quickly have tired of this medium."
Artwork Details
- Title: Arm
- Artist: Man Ray (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1890–1976 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1935
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 29.7 x 23.0 cm (11 11/16 x 9 1/16 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
- Object Number: 1987.1100.24
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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