“I would photograph an idea rather than an object, a dream rather than an idea.” -Man Ray -
The captivating, monochrome madness of Man Ray’s photography is being exhibited in India for the first time by TARQ in collaboration with Mondo Galeria (Madrid) and Matthieu Foss. The exhibition Views of the Spirit, on view till 1st July
in TARQ’s Colaba gallery, exposes the art lovers of Bombay to an up close in encounter with the belovedly strange and magical photographic work of Man Ray, a figure that helped define and flesh out the 20th century’s Dada and Surrealist movements.
Although Man Ray’s artistic talent flourished in a variety of art forms, in particular painting, Ray’s photographic endeavors, including his very own radical style named Rayography (Man Ray rediscovered how to make “camera-less” pictures on photosensitive paper to which he coined the namesake term Rayographs) were instrumental in nurturing the birth of modernism.
Unshackled by the constraints of logic and reason Man Ray’s photos challenge the concept of ‘high art’ and mirror the ugly side of idealism. Within the shade of Ray’s many shadows emanates a dark beauty, staring unfazed at the onlooker, rejecting capitalist conformity with a brave and almost sensual striped-down vehemence. His close, lifelong friend and fellow artist Marcel Duchamp extolls the haunting beauty of Man Ray’s images with the sharpest of sentences; “It was his achievement to treat the camera as he treated the paintbrush, as a mere instrument at the service of the mind.”
From changing the way art was perceived with the likes of Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray’s work has stimulated the likes of Andy Warhol and Joseph Kosuth, and hopefully will shed a few rays of inspiration on all who grace the doors of TARQ’s Colaba gallery to absorb the avant garde.
Feature image is a collage of The Gift, 1921 Gelatin Silver print (Estate print) 30 X 24 cm © Man Ray Trust – ADAGP / courtesy MONDO GALERIA | TARQ and Self-Portrait, 1943 Gelatin Silver print (Estate print) 30 X 24 cm © Man Ray Trust – ADAGP / courtesy MONDO GALERIA | TARQ.