[Rayograph; Comb, Straight Razor Blade, Needle and Other Forms]
Man Ray made cameraless photographs (Rayograms, he called them) by placing objects on a sheet of photographic paper and exposing it to light. Though he followed a procedure much like the photographic experiments undertaken by Talbot nearly one hundred years earlier, Man Ray used the technique to make abstract compositions from commonplace domestic items. The resulting spatial, tonal, and gestural qualities of these compositions challenged traditional modes of visual apprehension and representation.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Rayograph; Comb, Straight Razor Blade, Needle and Other Forms]
- Artist: Man Ray (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1890–1976 Paris)
- Date: 1922
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 22.4 x 17.5 cm. (8 13/16 x 6 7/8 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
- Object Number: 1987.1100.294
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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