Man Ray In-depth Analysis

 Man Ray was a modernist artist who was originally from America but worked mainly in Paris. He was a part of the Dada and Surrealist movements which is very significant as he was one of the most popular artists within these movements. He did a wide range of media work but considered himself to be a paiter (mainly). In the art world he is noticed for his 'rayographs' which is a type of technique for producing photos, formally known as: Photograms. 

Context:
This piece of work (photogram) was done by Man Ray. I believe that this picture was just done as an experiment. I have chosen to analyse this piece because it looks like he tried to create an abstract image just like I will be doing. It seems abstract because at first I thought it was a pattern that he made, then I realised he placed a flower onto the photo paper. The fact  that it was difficult to realise what object he had used made it seem very interesting. For this photogram I think he would have used F.8 and 8 seconds to expose this image as those settings allow the object to show up clearly and sharp as well as the different tones. 

Meaning:
A quote once said by Man Ray: '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 preffered inspiration to information'. This was not necessarily said about the picture that I am analysing but I believe that it can apply to all of the photograms that he created. This is because there is always a reason as to why he laid the objects out on the paper in teh way he chose to. If there was any theme for this photogram, I would say it could be 'nature' or 'abstraction'. Nature, because he has used a flower; abstraction because he has made the object look like something it's not.

Aesthetic:
The material used is a flower, and the technique used is named; Photogram. It has been done by placing a flower on top of a piece of photopaper and exposing it to light for approximately 8 seconds using f.8. The amount of seconds used and the F stop used for the picture has a big effect on the outcome; it allows all lines to look as sharp as possible. I think this aspect is important because the round pattern that the petal stalks create, make the image look abstract.

Personal Response:
I have chosen to look at Man Ray and his photogram as he inspired me to use this technique for my project. I selected this picture in particular because I didn't know what it was to begin with as it seemed very abstract, and this is the effect I want my photograms to create. For example: placing a perfume bottle upside down on the photopaper. I like the way that the flower fills up the majority of the paper, which adds effect to the mystery of what it is.