Man Ray-Isms

A collection of provocative quotations from the innovative and influential modern artist Man Ray

The painter, photographer, sculptor, and filmmaker Man Ray (1890–1976) was one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century and was responsible for some of its most important innovations. With a career spanning Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism, he pioneered the use of light painting, photograms (which he called “Rayograms”), and solarization. Man Ray-isms presents a collection of his quotations drawn from interviews, writings, letters, and other sources. Poetic, enigmatic, and provocative, Man Ray-isms offers rare insight into the mind of one of the most original and visionary modern artists.

• “It has never been my object to record my dreams, just the determination to realize them.”
• “A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him.”
• “I paint what cannot be photographed, that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive.”
• “I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.”
• “One of the satisfactions of a genius is his will-power and obstinacy.”
• “I have been accused of being a joker. But the most successful art to me involves humor.”