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Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens

Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens
By Wendy A. Grossman

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Product Description

This groundbreaking analysis spotlights a select group of Man Ray’s photographs within the context of modernist photographic history and the “discovery” of African art by the early twentieth-century avant-garde. Featuring more than seventy photographs by Man Ray—some never before reproduced—alongside many rarely seen photographs of African art by his European and American contemporaries, Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens uncovers a virtually unknown chapter in both the inventive activities of this celebrated artist and in this overlooked facet of photographic history.
 
Meticulously researched and compellingly presented, Wendy A. Grossman raises thought-provoking questions about the role photographs played in shaping perceptions of African art and, in turn, how such images led to distinctive modernist viewpoints across racial and geographic boundaries. Particularly notable is the treatment of the African pieces both as integral components of the modernist history to which they contributed and, as elucidated by original scholarship by African art experts, as objects with their own independent cultural histories. Revealing a more complex engagement with African art by Man Ray and his contemporaries than has been previously known, Grossman provides a rich and nuanced study that makes an important addition to our understanding of critical issues in modernism that continue to influence the way we see African art today.

With an essay by Ian Walker and additional contributions by Yaëlle Biro, Poul Mørk, Rainer Stamm, and Tomás Winter. Concordance of African objects edited by Letty Wilson Bonnell.
 

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #156256 in Books
  • Published on: 2009-10-28
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 200 pages

Features

  • ISBN13: 9780816670178
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Man Ray, African Art and the Modernist Lens single-handedly resuscitates the photograph as a critical and almost completely overlooked medium in promoting the popularity and understanding of l'art negre for a western audience. The monumental studies of Robert Goldwater and William Rubin—comprehensive and engaging though they may have been—overlooked the influential role played by the photograph in this context, a regrettable lacunae this endeavor seeks to fulfill. Not only does this exhibition and catalogue complete a chapter in our understanding of Man Ray's work, but its cross-cultural approach allows us to see how the medium of photography influenced the infusion and comprehension of African and other non-western arts in the west, not only among artists, but by the general public as well." —Francis M. Naumann

About the Author

Wendy A. Grossman is an independent scholar and curator.

Customer Reviews

Man Ray and African Art5
Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens, by Wendy Grossman, is not your typical museum exhibition catalogue. Written to accompany a traveling exhibition that opened in Washington at the Phillips Colleciton, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history of photography and of new interpretations of "primitivism." Carefully studying photographs of African art--not just by Man Ray but by a host of photographers, many unexpected ones--Grossman places these photographs in the context of modernism. Just as objects from beyond Europe made their way into modernist circles, so, too, did photography, and Grossman draws these parallels convincingly. Especially valuable is the attention Grossman pays to the African objects that drew the photographers' interest. Instead of simply lumping them together as "other," she studies their meaning, their provenance, and why they would have drawn the attention they did at a particular time. A concordance of the objects in the photographs, edited by Letty Wilson Bonnell, is provided at the back of the book to offer further information about the objects. Clearly written and persuasively argued, this book is accessible to expert and layperson alike. This is one of those exhibition catalogues that will live on long after the last photograph or object is shipped back to its lender.