Man Ray: When Objects Dream

Author: D'Alessandro, Stephanie

Brand: Metropolitan Museum of Art New York

Number Of Pages: 338

EAN: 9781588398024

Release Date: 30-09-2025

Package Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.4 x 1.5 inches

Languages: English

Binding: Hardcover

Details: The first in-depth study of Man Ray’s groundbreaking rayographs of the 1920s and their interconnections with his Dada and Surrealist works

This is the first in-depth study of the rayograph (or camera-less photograph) pioneered by Man Ray (1890–1976) in 1920s Paris, between the Dada and Surrealist movements. The transformative, magical qualities of these experiments led the poet Tristan Tzara to describe them as capturing moments “when objects dream.” Oscillating between representation and abstraction, the rayograph was ambiguous in its making and subject matter, encapsulating avant-garde concerns of the day. This book highlights connections and shared motifs between the rayographs and Man Ray’s paintings, photographs, drawings, objects, and films. Stephanie D’Alessandro and Stephen C. Pinson analyze the artist’s innovative methods while also exploring key themes across a broad range of his art production, such as chance, indeterminacy, transformation, and preoccupation with dualities.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(September 14, 2025–February 1, 2026)