Courtney Wise
Photography
Tears
Ray created this Gelatin silver print between 1930 and 1932. It is believed he considered it one of his most successful photographs. Even though it appears the woman is real, it is actually a manaquin. Her tears are glass round bead, and these tears could have actually been related to the fact that Ray had recently gone through a breakup with his lover Lee Miller.
Man Ray
Born August 27, 1890 in Philadelphia to Russian Jewish immigrants Man Ray was originally named Emmanuel Rudnitzky. He had a passion for art that continued throughout his high school career, which led to his studies of drawing under Robert Henri. He found inspiration from many people such as Alfred Stieglitz and Pablo Picasso. Ray was married in 1914 but the marriage fell through after a few years.
Ray became a leading figure in the Dada movement in New York. This movement challenged existing notions in the art world and it encouraged spontaneous works.
In 1921 Ray moved to Paris where he became a part of the avant garde movement. He bevame famous for his portraits, and worked as a photographer for esteemed fashion companies, such as Vogue.
By accident, Ray re-discovered a way to create interesting images in the darkroom. He called this method "Rayographs". This method used the arrangement of objects on a peice of photo paper to create images with the light from the enlarger. This art form is now known as "photograms".
Along with Dadaism, Ray became an explorer of Surrealism, creating films and images that often included effects such as solarization that gave his works a supernatural feel.
Ray returned to Paris in 1951 and continued to explore a variety of artistif forms. He also began to write his autobiography, which took over a decade to complete. Ray continued to exhibit his art all over the world begore his death on November 18, 1976. He died at the age of 86 in Paris. Ray's works are still on display worldwide, and his influence is still seen in many modern artworks.