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Lot Essay
In the end, this Rayograph and the variant (lot 14) were not included. The exclusion seems to stem from Man Ray's decision not to show a specific head/face in any of his published plates. In 'Electricité' (pl.3) and 'Salle de Bains' (pl.10), he uses the nude female torso but eliminates the head. Electricité was a commissioned campaign with a commercial purpose. His aim was not to portray a specific type but rather to convey a universal message.
The starfish-shaped object, which is paired with Ramm's face, is a hot plate, suggesting that this image and the variant are related to the theme of cooking and the kitchen. The image Man Ray chose for the portfolio to evoke the kitchen is a humorous composition comprising a platter of roast chicken and a coil (pl.8).
While the visual effect of the white coils against the black background resembles a photogram, a camera would have been used to capture the heated coils in the recessed grooves of the hot plate. From a purely technical viewpoint, the two images of Ramm are double-exposure prints. In the Electricité portfolio, 'La Ville' (pl.6), a multiple- exposure composition, also lacks a photogram element. For Man Ray, it was not the methodology that determined what is and is not a Rayograph but rather the Dada/Surrealist spirit in which it was made and the visual poetry of the end product - the white silhouettes floating in the dark.
This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the Rayographs being prepared by Man Ray Research Scholar Steven Manford.
The starfish-shaped object, which is paired with Ramm's face, is a hot plate, suggesting that this image and the variant are related to the theme of cooking and the kitchen. The image Man Ray chose for the portfolio to evoke the kitchen is a humorous composition comprising a platter of roast chicken and a coil (pl.8).
While the visual effect of the white coils against the black background resembles a photogram, a camera would have been used to capture the heated coils in the recessed grooves of the hot plate. From a purely technical viewpoint, the two images of Ramm are double-exposure prints. In the Electricité portfolio, 'La Ville' (pl.6), a multiple- exposure composition, also lacks a photogram element. For Man Ray, it was not the methodology that determined what is and is not a Rayograph but rather the Dada/Surrealist spirit in which it was made and the visual poetry of the end product - the white silhouettes floating in the dark.
This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the Rayographs being prepared by Man Ray Research Scholar Steven Manford.