Modern photography: Man Ray, the birth of Dadaism and Surrealism

"There is no progress in art, any more than there is progress in making love. There are simply different ways of doing it."

Dada essay

It is an undeniable fact that photography is doubtless considered as a branch of art in general, a new art really followed by many people. If I had to choose just one photographer from the Modern period, I would certainly be in trouble. However, giving importance not only to my preferences but also to the importance and contribution to development, I have chosen the American artist Man Ray.

Salvador Dalí and and Man Ray in Paris 

Man Ray (1890-1976) spent most of his life working in Paris. He could be described simply as a modernist, taking important part into both Dada and Surrealistic movements. He was well-known (his fame specially increased during the last decades) for his avant-garde photography. Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He renamed his photograms "rayographs" after himself. They were very studied compositions which go beyond the purely everyday things to take life themselves and partake in a dream world, to be surrealistic in other words. It is not about reflecting reality, but to recreate it. 

Man Ray's whole photographic work may be defined as disconcerting and fascinating at the same time. He, a painter, made photography into something to be worth considering art. Now let's take a look at some of his rayographs. His work is based on different visions of still life and, on the other hand, famous people of his time portraits (psychological versions indeed) and female nudes of several "femme fatale". It is almost insane not to take him into account these days and practically a crime not to consider him as one of the greatest influences on photography as an art. 

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Summer