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Palais Lumière EVIAN, July 1st to November 5, 2023
Recognized as one of the greatest photographers on both sides of the Atlantic, Man Ray occupies a prominent place in the history of 20th century art. Some of his photographs have become iconic.
Man Ray has always refused to be cataloged, he claims the fertile mixture of form and ideas to forge his artistic creations, which he will frequently decline on several supports and media, and at different times.
It is necessary to see these variations to appreciate the work of the artist in all its complexity, to understand the creative process of Man Ray and to understand the importance of his work. The exhibition Man Ray, master of lights presents a real panorama of his works, developed through several themes:
Self-portraits
The self-portrait is a genre that Man Ray was fond of and that he often took up throughout his life, on his various media (drawing, painting, object and even film). But it is above all photography that allows him to stage himself, to disguise himself, to disguise himself according to his mood or his state of mind of the moment. So many poignant or amusing testimonies of his life.
The Muses
The six main women, companions or friends, who inspired Man Ray.
Kiki de Montparnasse (Alice Print), model and muse of Montparnasse whom Man Ray meets a few months after his arrival in Paris in 1921. She will become his mistress. From their complicity will be born world famous photographic works such as Noire et blanche or Le Violon d'Ingres.
Lee Miller, a young American, arrives in Paris to become her assistant in 1929. Man Ray can only be seduced by her pure and sculptural beauty, and falls madly in love with her. For three years, they will live together a fruitful period in creation, during which they rediscover solarization.
Nusch Eluard, actress, acrobat and extra. She meets Paul Eluard and will quickly become a muse of the surrealist group. A permanent figure in her husband's work, she will be an incessant source of poetic inspiration, particularly carnal.
Meret Oppenheim, writer, painter and surrealist visual artist of Swiss origin. After exhibiting at the Salon des Indépendants with the surrealists, she became friends with Man Ray who photographed her several times.
Ady (Adrienne Fidelin), a young dancer from Guadeloupe, served as a model for Man Ray who fell in love with her in 1935. She was quickly adopted by the circle of surrealist friends. Ady is known to be the first model of color whose photograph was published in the American general press (Harper's Bazaar, Sept. 1937)
Juliet, young woman, dancer, of a faun beauty with scintillating black eyes whom Man Ray meets, at friends' house, hardly arrived in Hollywood. She will become his companion and his muse until the end of his life.
Dadaism - Surrealism
The Dada movement, born in Zurich in 1916 in reaction to the horrors of the First World War, advocates freedom of creation and provocation to the point of disorder. The Dada spirit conquers Paris. But in 1924, wanting above all to rebuild, to renew the relationship between man and the world, Breton and his friends united a new movement: Surrealism.
Portraits
"It's the human face that interests me. As soon as I see a face that I find interesting, I like to photograph it"
Between 1922 and 1940, Man Ray began to photograph all his surrealist friends, then the whole of Paris came to have their portraits taken in his studio.
Nudes
"I say that photographing a nude indeed required extreme effort, the more beautiful the model, the more difficult it was to create something that did justice to her beauty."
Man Ray's nude photographs are above all a hymn to the seduction of the female body, imbued with seductive modesty. They have an exceptional sense of plasticity, close to antique sculptures.
Rayograms
At the end of 1921, he composed with light by exposing various objects directly on the sensitive surface, a process that Tristan Tzara would call "rayographies".
In 1931, with Lee Miller, he produced an advertising album ELECTRICITY of 10 rayographies for the Compagnie Parisienne d'Electricité.
Sade
One of Man Ray's neighbors in Montparnasse was a great Sade specialist who asked him to photograph the roll of paper written by Sade, imprisoned in the Bastille. This roll had been acquired by the Noailles, Marie-Laure being a granddaughter of Sade. No image of the marquis existing, Man Ray undertook to create an imaginary portrait of him which he declined to make two paintings.
International Exhibition of Surrealism, Paris 1938
Organized by André Breton, Paul Eluard and Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray was named "Master of Lights" there. 16 mannequins were placed along a wall plastered with posters of past exhibitions, leaflets, surreal photos and blue enamel plaques bearing street names. The whole will take the title of "The most beautiful streets of Paris". The mannequins decorated with everyday objects formed surreal objects par excellence.
Paris
Man Ray wanders on foot in Paris, this city he loves, and takes many photographs of it during the years he lived there. Places he also painted or drew.
Fashion
From 1922, he tried his hand at fashion photography, notably for the couturier Paul Poiret, then for Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel, … his photographs were published in numerous magazines.
Movie theater
Poet and visual artist of the 7th art, Man Ray is recognized as an avant-garde filmmaker with his 4 great films: Back to Reason (1922), Emak Bakia (1926), Starfish (1928) and The Mysteries of Château du Dé (1929). Himself will sign "Director of bad movies".
Lithographs – Objects
Almost all of Man Ray's graphic works are taken from previous works (oils, gouaches, drawings, collages, photos, objects). His process of artistic creation has always been guided by this ease with which he made replicas, variations, new editions of his works.
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