Photographs by the protean American artist Man Ray (1890-1976)
played a pivotal role in translating early twentieth-century fascination
with non-Western art into a modernist aesthetic and in disseminating
this aesthetic to an international audience.
A groundbreaking exhibition is under development that explores
how Man Ray's photographs contributed to the process by which
African and Oceanic objects, formerly considered ethnographic
artifacts, came to be perceived as art in the West.
In Object and Image, Man Ray's photographs will be juxtaposed
with many of the actual objects appearing in the images. The goal
is to experience the masks and figural sculptures first hand and
to learn about the cultures from which they emerged, while at
the same time illustrating how these objects acquired new meanings
through the medium of photography. In the process, new insight
will be gained into this important chapter in the history of collecting
tribal arts.
Although many of the objects have been located, the project organizers
are still looking for the following masks and sculptures featured
in Man Ray's photographs.
For further information contact: wendyg@artsandartists.org
