Metropolitan Museum's Man Ray Display Conjures Science, Mysticism, and Artistic Brilliance
The world of art takes a captivating turn as The Metropolitan Museum of Art unveils an extraordinary exhibition, showcasing the cameraless images known as rayographs. This exhibition, a platform for future study and the next generation of questions, features works from over 50 lenders, including a transformative promised gift of 188 Dada and Surrealist works from Trustee John A. Pritzker (the Bluff Collection).
The story of rayographs began in an unexpected manner, with an after-hours accident in 1921 involving glass labware on unexposed paper and a flash of light. This serendipitous event led to the creation of these unique, negative silhouette and luminous residue images. The exhibition includes rayographs by Man Ray, with thirty-five works from the Bluff Collection on display.
Man Ray's rayographs are not exhibited as curiosities of process but as a nervous system threading everything else. They are presented alongside works like Tristan Tzara's exquisite line-pictures, offering a fascinating juxtaposition of artistic styles. One such piece is the portfolio Les Champs délicieux (1922), a series of 12 rayographs introduced to the public with Tzara's imprimatur. The sequence reads like laboratory notes from a poet, with Les Champs délicieux (1922) still looking strangely new, as if the paper were thinking for itself.
The exhibition marks a turn from Dada's unruliness towards Surrealism's dream-logic, a period Louis Aragon once labeled the mouvement flou. Iconic works from other media, such as Cadeau/Gift (1921), an iron studded with tacks, and Object to be Destroyed (1923), a metronome with an eye for a pendulum, are also on display. The landmark photograph Le violon d'Ingres (1924) is another highlight of the exhibition.
The donor of the transformative gift of 188 Dada and Surrealist works to The Met Fifth Avenue is Leonard Lauder, and the donation is valued at approximately $1 billion. This generous gift finances a new research initiative, the Bluff Collaborative, which includes live performance integrated into scholarship.
The tale of the origin story of rayographs has become legend, and this exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides a unique opportunity to witness the evolution of this revolutionary artistic technique. Cinema also receives its due in the exhibition with the screening of newly restored films like Retour à la raison (1923), Emak-Bakia (1926), and L'étoile de mer (1928). This exhibition is more than just an art show; it's a journey through the surreal, a testament to the power of creativity and innovation.
