Man Ray (A Da Capo paperback) [Paperback]

Neil Baldwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 1991 | Series: A Da Capo paperback

Man Ray is the quintessential modernist figure—painter, sculptor, objectmaker, and collagist; photographer, printmaker, and filmmaker; poet, essayist, and philosopher. One of the most important and enigmatic of the Surrealists who transformed the Paris art world during the ferment of the 1920s and beyond. Man Ray was a bundle of contradictions—a Dadaist who revered the Old Masters, an anarchist coddled by wealthy patrons, an obsessive documenter of his own works who was relentlessly determined to erase his personal history. Born Emmanuel Radnitsky, son of a Philadelphia garment worker and his strict, sharp-tongued wife, he grew up in Brooklyn, fled to Paris, and eluded ties with his family. Under the influence of his close friend Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray began creating works such as The Gift, a flatiron adorned with carpet tacks, and his mysterious rayographs of common and uncommon objects. His stormy love affairs were with some of the most fascinating women of his day—the poet Adon Lacroix, his first wife; the exotic chanteuse Kiki of Montparnasse; the photographer and actress Lee Miller. In the meantime, Man Ray came to know and photograph virtually every important figure in the arts on both sides of the Atlantic—personalities such as James Joyce, Coco Chanel, Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, and Max Ernst. Driven to make his mark in as many art forms as possible, Man Ray bitterly struggled to win acceptance as a painter even as his skill as a photographer brought him worldwide acclaim. Man Ray: American Artist, enriched by previously unpublished material and the close cooperation of Juliet Man Ray, the artist’s widow, should stand for years to come as the definitive story of the life and times of one of the greatest of modern artists.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Man Ray, a photographer/object-maker/collagist unsatisfied with mastery of just a few mediums, struggled with painting and was shunned by the art world after his 1940s foray into Hollywood filmmaking. PW called this "a model biography--judicious, compulsively readable, rooting its subject in his cultural milieu . . . a remarkable bit of sleuthing." Photos.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- Man Ray is an emminent figure in 20th-Century modernism, especially photography and photographic techniques. Baldwin, who had access to the artist's private papers and the cooperation of his family, took five years in putting together this comprehensive biography, which is copiously illustrated with photographs. The scholarly style and length of the book may intimidate some readers, but art and photography students will especially appreciate this insightful biography for research or for perusal.
- Jenni Elliott, Episcopal High School, Bellaire, Tex.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1St Edition edition (March 21, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306804239
• ISBN-13: 978-0306804236
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,680,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An artist of his own, August 19, 2009

By 

William Timothy Lukeman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Man Ray: American Artist (Hardcover)

This is an exceptional biography of an artist who never fit into any pigeonhole, and has never gotten the full recognition he deserves. Thus, many are probably familiar with some of his many creations, without necessarily knowing his name, much less his remarkable life story.

Associated most of all with Dada & the Surrealists, he was nonetheless a man apart in many ways. From childhood he knew that he wanted to be an artist, someone who creates & lives by his work. He stated that he chose to become an artist, that he consciously made himself, as much as he made any of his art. And he pursued his chosen calling with unfailing integrity, working in photography, painting, assemblages, collages, and the Idea itself as Art.

Biographer Neil Baldwin follows & explores Man Ray's life from his Brooklyn childhood to life in his beloved Paris -- a life interrupted by WWII, which sent him back to America & ultimately to Los Angeles for several years, before a final return to Paris. And it explores the place of the female Muse in his life -- a succession of beautiful & talented women who inspired deep Romantic love & art to express that love. It's fascinating to see how several began as students or apprentices, and then went on to establish notable artistic careers of their own.

What especially strikes me is the combination of an almost naive but intense sense of himself as a creative artist, and his down-to-earth, gruff, almost streetwise persona. It seems he always encouraged aspiring artists, preferring to offer constructive criticism & encouragement rather than disparaging their efforts. Nor did he insist that they follow his vision, only that they develop a true vision of their own, wherever it might lead.

And it's deeply moving to read of his last years, as he showed an admirer notes & sketches for hundreds of proposed creations he knew he would never live to realize. He went so far as to say that sometimes he didn't even bother with notes, that merely having the idea was enough. All in all, a truly inspirational story -- not in any sappy, sentimental way, but as an example of someone actually living out his dreams, no matter what the personal costs. It should definitely send the reader in search of his art -- highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars more phots, May 27, 2011

By 

Photoman "D-76" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Man Ray: American Artist (Hardcover)

I know THAT sounds ridiculous, but . . . this book could use photos of the works being discussed. I know there is the internet to look things up, but it's much easier to just turn a page and see what this or that earth-shaking work of art might look like over and above writer description if it were in the very book we are holding in or hands.
Other than that, this is a decent book - another take on a great artist beside his own bio version.