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“Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask ‘how’, while others of a more curious nature will ask 'why’. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information."
"There is no progress in art, any more than there is progress in making love. There are simply different ways of doing it." — 1948 essay, "To Be Continued, Unnoticed".
"To create is divine, to reproduce is human." — "Originals Graphic Multiples", circa 1968; published in Objets de Mon Affection, 1983.
"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." — Undated interview, c. 1970
Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky, Aug. 27, 1890 – Nov. 18, 1976); American visual artist who spent most of his career in France. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. He was best known for his photography, and he was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. Man Ray is also noted for his work with photograms, which he called "rayographs" in reference to himself.
During his career as an artist, Man Ray allowed few details of his early life or family background to be known to the public. He even refused to acknowledge that he ever had a name other than Man Ray.
Man Ray was born as Emmanuel Radnitzky in South Philadelphia, PA, in 1890. He was the eldest child of Russian Jewish immigrants.... In early 1912, the Radnitzky family changed their surname to Ray... in reaction to the ethnic discrimination and antisemitism prevalent at the time. Emmanuel, who was called "Manny" as a nickname, changed his first name to Man and gradually began to use Man Ray as his combined single name. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Ray) undefined