MAN RAY fashion photographer INTRODUCTORY TEXT theatre art and the pictorial avant- garde. Composition, re-cropping, 01 the interplay of light and shadow, solarisation and colourisation Man Ray, fashion photographer are some of the innovations that Following the advice of Marcel contributed to the creation of images Duchamp, Man Ray left New York from photographic developments in July 1921 and moved to Paris. in the media during the 1930s. As a photographer, he played an The exhibition highlights the way Man active part in the Dadaist movement. Ray’s commercial work and artistic The fashion designer, Paul Poiret, projects continuously and mutually encouraged him to become a fashion enriched one another. The fashion photographer for magazines (Vogue, magazines, which lie at the root of the Femina, Vanity Fair) and illustrated creation of these images, engaged magazines (VU). He would go on with the photographs and in so doing to collaborate regularly with the their role in the popularisation of a American magazine, Harper’s Bazaar. new aesthetic was emphasised. Although his fashion photography At the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, was the result of intense hard work de la Faïence et de la Mode – and formed a large part of his career, Château Borély, the exhibition it is still relatively unknown today. continues with La Mode au Man Ray gave fashion photography a temps de Man Ray (Fashion in new lease of life through his technical the time of Man Ray), allowing inventiveness and an unprecedented us to place these photographs freedom with tone, derived from within their historical context. 02 The Coat-stand 04 Obstruction 1920/1995 1920/1964 gelatin silver print, reproduction Thirty-two coat hangers from the negative made from wood and iron Paris, Centre Pompidou, Musée National Edition 10, Galleria Schwarz, Milan d’Art Moderne/Centre de Création Milan, private collection, Industrielle acquired by request Marconi Foundation A woman is standing naked behind This object was created in 1947 a coat-stand that replaces her and is ‘made up of 63 coat hangers arms, hides her face and covers attached to one another in a her shoulders. The image of the mathematical way, using equations. puppet-body is emphasised by the They are attached in this way to form metal stand that ruthlessly splits her an arithmetic progression; first one, body in half. A mannequin versus then another at each end, making a living body, a dumbstruck doll two; on these two, two more, making versus an emancipated being. The four; then eight; then thirty-two. At title removes any doubt: here, the this point the gallery is completely object prevails. Reproduced in the filled and you can no longer see the magazine, New York dada, Marcel artworks that are on display. This is Duchamp and Man Ray, April 1921 why it is called Obstruction’ (Beverly Inv. TEX 1995-281 (1447) Hills Man Ray Exhibition, 1948) 03 Le Baiser (The Kiss) 05 Collection d’hiver around 1932 (Winter collection) gelatin silver print 1936 Paris, private collection gelatin silver print Paris, private collection The folds that can be seen on the photograph demonstrate a re- This work published in La cropping method often used by Man photographie n’est pas l’art, Ray. Re-cropping through folding shows, through a close-up and places all the focus on the kiss. The low-angled shot, a tree whose folding, to instruct the printer, aims fruit is covered by paper bags. Its to reinforce the intensity of this kiss. humorous title (Winter Collection) underlines the suggestive character of the photograph and appears to be a nod by Man Ray to his work in fashion photography. 06 Man Ray’s Mannequin 07 Cadeau (Gift) for the Exposition 1921/2003 Internationale du gelatin silver print, reproduction from the glass plate Surréalisme 1938 Paris, Centre Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne/Centre de création gelatin silver contact print industrielle acquired by request Marseille, Musée Cantini Acquired In December 1921, Man Ray held an in 2019 in memory of Mr Jean-François Sarnoul exhibition entitled ‘Exposition dada Man Ray’ with the help of Philippe The Exposition Internationale du Soupault at the bookshop, Six, in Surréalisme was held at the Galerie Paris. On his way there, he passed des Beaux-Arts in Paris in winter the window of a hardware store and 1938. The corridor had been took the opportunity to buy an iron. transformed into a ‘surrealist street’, He attached a row of small nails on with sixteen mannequins dressed by to the front of the iron and put it in the artists installed against the wall. a box. He wrote the title ‘Cadeau’ These mannequins, objects halfway (‘gift’) on it as he intended to give it between the animate and inanimate, to Philippe Soupault. The association were first and foremost surrealist, of the iron, nails and the title is despite originating from the world of an integral part of the subversive fashion. Man Ray placed lightbulbs and poetic practice which was so in the hair of his mannequin, leaving important to the Dadaist spirit. the body unclothed apart from a Man Ray tells how this object, which ribbon, which had the inscription had become an object of art,would ‘adieu foulard’, tied around the hips. be reused during a rehearsal for The glass beads placed in the corner a film: to help a dancer who had of the eyes and by the armpits are ripped her dress, he offered to reminiscent of Glass Tears, taken for iron it for her, creating a tattered a mascara advertisement in 1932. dress, perfect for showcasing the dancer’s movements. From the middle of the 1920s, Inv. TEX 1995-281 (187) the artist created a photography campaign intended for magazines for the models at the company, Siegel. In 1966 he released a limited edition publication of the Résurrection des Mannequins which included photos taken during the 1938 Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme. Inv. 2019.4.17 08 THE 1920S, FROM ↘ This was a procedure that HIGH-SOCIETY Man Ray often used to soften the models’ features. PORTRAITS TO FASHION Inv. AM 1994-353 PHOTOGRAPHY In 1922 Man Ray was introduced 10 Vogue France to Paul Pioret. The meeting was far 1st May 1925 from a success. The fashion designer was happy to make his facilities Countess Étienne de Beaumont Centre de documentation and models available to this newly- de la Mode, Marseille arrived young American, but refused to pay him to use the photographs. At the invitation of Lucien Vogel, But Man Ray needed to make a who was editor of Jardin des Modes living, so he concentrated on taking and the Gazette du Bon Ton and portraits of notable figures in Parisian who would also go on to launch the circles, which included Americans French edition of Vogue, under the and representatives of high society auspices of Condé Nast, Steichen and all those - including artists and attracted attention with a series writers - who were drawn to Paris. of photographs of ball gowns that Man Ray, captivated by this free and had been designed by the fashion creative environment, did not give designer, Paul Poiret. In 1923, up and hoped to be able to quickly the publishing group Condé Nast find success in fashion photography. named him director of photography for its magazines in New York, including Vogue and Vanity Fair. He delicately balanced art and text 09 Kiki de Montparnasse when designing the publication. 1924 gelatin silver print 11 Untitled Paris, Centre Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne/Centre around 1925 de Création Industrielle gelatin silver print donated in 1994 Paris, private collection Kiki de Montparnasse was an artists’muse and model in A Jeanne Lanvin dress embroidered Montparnasse from 1917. She met with beaded medallions for the Man Ray in 1921, becoming his muse straps and a long chiffon scarf. In and his lover. In 1922 they moved the background, on a miniature into the studio on Rue Campagne- mannequin, is a reproduction Première in Paris. Whilst the contact of the ‘Columbine’ dress, made sheets from the same photo shoot of ivory taffeta with large black revealed cropping at mid-body, this velvet dots, beads, metallic image, concentrated around the bust, thread and a red velvet bow. indicates cropping after the shoot. ↗ 12 Peggy Guggenheim 13 La Marquise Casati dans une robe de Poiret (The Marchioness Casati) (Peggy Guggenheim 1935 in a Poiret dress) Gelatin silver print 1924 Marseille, Musée Cantini gelatin silver print cropped acquired in 2019 in memory with black ink of Mr. Jean-François Sarnoul Paris, Centre Pompidou, Musée Luisa Casati was an extravagant National d’Art Moderne/Centre personality and a major figure in de Création Industrielle donated in 1994 European society from the start of the 20th century. As a friend of the Peggy Guggenheim in an ‘oriental’ Italian poet, Gabriele d’Annunzio, Paul Poiret dress in 1923. The tunic she influenced the artistic and was made from brocade satin with high-society life of 1920s Europe, Persian patterns and embroidered organising huge and luxurious with multicoloured beads and a gold masked balls. She was a patron of lamé skirt. Vera Stravinski’s Turban major fashion designers like Fortuny Peggy Guggenheim, a wealthy and Paul Poiret and became a American heiress, arrived in Paris legend amongst her contemporaries. in 1921. After her marriage to the Man Ray created a portrait of the French poet and artist, Laurence Vail, Marchioness in 1922 that became the following year, she frequented the well-known for splitting her gaze Parisian artistic avant-garde circles in two. He photographed her again and befriended Marcel Duchamp. at the Bal des Tableaux célèbres, She would go on to become one which was organised by the Count of the biggest gallery owners and of Beaumont in July 1935.