Early in 1922, after leaving New York for Paris, Man Ray began to experiment with making camera-less “photos,” placing found objects upon photosensitized paper and exposing the arrangements to light. The immediacy of this process did away with the drawn-out steps of darkroom photography, addressing the goal Man Ray outlined when he wrote, “I am trying to make my photography automatic—to use my camera as I would a typewriter.” He nicknamed the results of his experiments “rayographs,” a combination of his name and the word “photograph.” This rayograph toys with the role of film in photography—instead of developing the film to create a photo in the traditional manner, Man Ray unspooled the roll across the light-sensitive paper to create a spiraling form.
2019
Kids label from 2024
Did you know you can make a photograph without using a camera? Man Ray made this picture by placing objects on light-sensitive paper, then shining a bright light over them. The shadows cast by each object are white and light gray. The artist called these images “rayographs,” naming them after himself. What objects can you recognize here?
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Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)
American, 1890–1976 190 works onlineSo enthused Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky) in 1922, shortly after his first experiments with camera-less photography. He remains well known for these images, commonly called photograms but which he dubbed “rayographs” in a punning combination of his own name and the word “photograph.
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