Customer Reviews

Alias Man Ray: The Art of Reinvention (Jewish Museum)

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Man Ray (1890-1976), born in Philadelphia to Russian Jewish parents, was initially named Emmanuel Radnitzky. It is enlightening to read his plainly written and emotionally unrevealing memoirs titled "Self Portrait" where he glosses over his formative years in a few pages. There is nothing written in the whole book about his Jewish background and very little concerning his family relationships. The essays in "Alias Man Ray" attempt to shed new light on Ray's personality and his artistic output.

In the first article Mason Klein aims to "examine Man Ray's life and work as a deliberate, ongoing attempt to reinvent himself and his art, and to reconcile his need to obscure but still to declare himself". This chapter might well have been titled "Ray Man on the Couch". I suspect that had Man been in therapy, he would have been an extremely fascinating subject but not one to willingly reveal much of himself .

Two further essays cover his artistic output and the book concludes with an extended cutural timeline. I found the quality of the written material unusually intelligent and thought provoking. Contrary to the usual catalog presentation, the exhibition material is interspersed within the writing rather than being in a separate section. The images consist of his creations (paintings, objects, drawings, photographs, sculptures etc) and documentary items. It is instructive to observe how diverse Ray's artistic oeuvre was and how derivative and lacking in a common style it appears. Ultimately it was Man Ray's photographic gifts that remain the most memorable aspect of his artistic legacy.

This book is well printed with the reproductions being of an above average quality. There is no dust jacket. I strongly recommend this insightful and informative book.