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The Arts Intel Report

Man Ray and Fashion

Man Ray, Tête de femme vue en plongée, 1930/1979.

Apr 22 – Aug 13, 2023

The name Man Ray sounds like someone or something zapped in from another world. In fact, that world was South Philly, where Emmanuel Radnitzky was born in 1890, the son of a tailor. The family moved to Brooklyn, where Manny grew up, bent on a career in the arts from the very beginning. In 1912, the family surname changed to Ray. Though he considered himself a painter, Man Ray worked in many mediums, was an important member of both the Dada and Surrealist movements, and achieved fame for his avant-garde photographs. This exhibition focuses on Man Ray’s exceptional fashion photography for Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. Light, line, an air of enigma, and the tingle of the twilight zone make his work—“I photograph my visions”—unforgettable. —Laura Jacobs

Photo: © Man Ray 2015 Trust/Sabam Belgium 2023/courtesy of Fondazione Marconi, Milan