Man Ray, born Emmanuel Radnitzky, never acknowledged his birth name. Opting to use the monosyllabic “Man” in place of Emmanuel, the artist’s forename is both a term of endearment and an impersonal descriptor. Ray’s surname, meanwhile, tells its own story: amidst a wave of antisemitism, the artist’s family aimed to obscure their Russian-Jewish origins. Dropping all but three letters, Radnitzky became Ray. Thus, out of necessity, Emmanuel Radnitzky was sculpted into Man Ray.
Be it through coincidence or fate, Man Ray’s artistic process draws from the same well. Dubbed “the rayograph” — a portmanteau of “Ray” and “photograph” — Man Ray’s signature technique makes art through obfuscation. More specifically, rayography describes a unique spin on the photogram, a form of camera-free photography. After placing an assortment of objects atop a sheet of light-sensitive paper, the artist exposed his creation to light. The final image situates Man Ray’s subjects in an alien context, creating what he calls “not quite a simple silhouette of the objects as in a straight photograph, but distorted and refracted.” Familiar becomes foreign.
At the Met, roughly 60 rayographs take up residence alongside 100 other works — including paintings, photos, and films. Defamiliarizing everyday objects, Man Ray’s oeuvre encourages viewers to reconsider the idea of recognition. Today, the rayographs remain as the artist first described them: “startlingly new and mysterious.”
“Man Ray: When Objects Dream” is on view at the Met until Feb. 1, 2026.
