Man Ray-Isms - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A collection of provocative quotations from the innovative and influential modern artist Man Ray

The painter, photographer, sculptor, and filmmaker Man Ray (1890-1976) was one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century and was responsible for some of its most important innovations. With a career spanning Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism, he pioneered the use of light painting, photograms (which he called "Rayograms"), and solarization. Man Ray-isms presents a collection of his quotations drawn from interviews, writings, letters, and other sources. Poetic, enigmatic, and provocative, Man Ray-isms offers rare insight into the mind of one of the most original and visionary modern artists.

• "It has never been my object to record my dreams, just the determination to realize them."
• "A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him."
• "I paint what cannot be photographed, that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive."
• "I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence."
• "One of the satisfactions of a genius is his will-power and obstinacy."
• "I have been accused of being a joker. But the most successful art to me involves humor."

About the Author

Man Ray (1890-1976) was an American-born naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He made significant contributions to the Dada and Surrealist movements, and created major works in a variety of media but primarily considered himself a painter. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Gallery. Larry Warsh has been active in the art world for more than thirty years as a publisher and artist-collaborator. He was a founding member of the Basquiat Authentication Committee and is the editor of many books, including Jean-Michel Basquiat's The Notebooks, Ono-isms, Warhol-isms, Weiwei-isms, Haring-isms, Basquiat-isms, Abloh-isms, and Duchamp-isms (all Princeton).