[Rayograph; Comb, Straight Razor Blade, Needle and Other Forms]

Man Ray American

Not on view

Man Ray made cameraless photographs (Rayograms, he called them) by placing objects on a sheet of photographic paper and exposing it to light. Though he followed a procedure much like the photographic experiments undertaken by Talbot nearly one hundred years earlier, Man Ray used the technique to make abstract compositions from commonplace domestic items. The resulting spatial, tonal, and gestural qualities of these compositions challenged traditional modes of visual apprehension and representation.

[Rayograph; Comb, Straight Razor Blade, Needle and Other Forms], Man Ray (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1890–1976 Paris), Gelatin silver print

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