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Product Description
The definitive biography of one of the most influential surrealists and a quintessential modernist. Figure-painter, sculptor, photographer, filmmaker, and collagist, Ray was born Emmanuel Radnitsky in Brooklyn. This book traces his American upbringing and his departure for Europe plus his work in painting, sculpture, photography, and filmmaking. Although he wasnt successful in all media, Man Ray nonetheless had his own style and vision. Baldwins portrait was the first full-length biography of Man Ray. This edition has a new intro by the author updating the artists story.
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ALL DURING the spring and summer of 1890, Manya Radnitsky labored, cross-stitch by cross-stitch, on a baby-carriage coverlet for her first child; so that when Emmanuel was born, on August 27, the tapestry was ready. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
ALL DURING the spring and summer of 1890, Manya Radnitsky labored, cross-stitch by cross-stitch, on a baby-carriage coverlet for her first child; so that when Emmanuel was born, on August 27, the tapestry was ready. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
An artist of his own
19 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an exceptional biography of an artist who never fit into any pigeonhole, and has never gotten the full recognition he deserves. Thus, many are probably familiar with some of his many creations, without necessarily knowing his name, much less his remarkable life story.
Associated most of all with Dada & the Surrealists, he was nonetheless a man apart in many ways. From childhood he knew that he wanted to be an artist, someone who creates & lives by his work. He stated that he chose to become an artist, that he consciously made himself, as much as he made any of his art. And he pursued his chosen calling with unfailing integrity, working in photography, painting, assemblages, collages, and the Idea itself as Art.
Biographer Neil Baldwin follows & explores Man Ray's life from his Brooklyn childhood to life in his beloved Paris -- a life interrupted by WWII, which sent him back to America & ultimately to Los Angeles for several years, before a final return to Paris. And it explores the place of the female Muse in his life -- a succession of beautiful & talented women who inspired deep Romantic love & art to express that love. It's fascinating to see how several began as students or apprentices, and then went on to establish notable artistic careers of their own.
What especially strikes me is the combination of an almost naive but intense sense of himself as a creative artist, and his down-to-earth, gruff, almost streetwise persona. It seems he always encouraged aspiring artists, preferring to offer constructive criticism & encouragement rather than disparaging their efforts. Nor did he insist that they follow his vision, only that they develop a true vision of their own, wherever it might lead.
And it's deeply moving to read of his last years, as he showed an admirer notes & sketches for hundreds of proposed creations he knew he would never live to realize. He went so far as to say that sometimes he didn't even bother with notes, that merely having the idea was enough. All in all, a truly inspirational story -- not in any sappy, sentimental way, but as an example of someone actually living out his dreams, no matter what the personal costs. It should definitely send the reader in search of his art -- highly recommended!
Associated most of all with Dada & the Surrealists, he was nonetheless a man apart in many ways. From childhood he knew that he wanted to be an artist, someone who creates & lives by his work. He stated that he chose to become an artist, that he consciously made himself, as much as he made any of his art. And he pursued his chosen calling with unfailing integrity, working in photography, painting, assemblages, collages, and the Idea itself as Art.
Biographer Neil Baldwin follows & explores Man Ray's life from his Brooklyn childhood to life in his beloved Paris -- a life interrupted by WWII, which sent him back to America & ultimately to Los Angeles for several years, before a final return to Paris. And it explores the place of the female Muse in his life -- a succession of beautiful & talented women who inspired deep Romantic love & art to express that love. It's fascinating to see how several began as students or apprentices, and then went on to establish notable artistic careers of their own.
What especially strikes me is the combination of an almost naive but intense sense of himself as a creative artist, and his down-to-earth, gruff, almost streetwise persona. It seems he always encouraged aspiring artists, preferring to offer constructive criticism & encouragement rather than disparaging their efforts. Nor did he insist that they follow his vision, only that they develop a true vision of their own, wherever it might lead.
And it's deeply moving to read of his last years, as he showed an admirer notes & sketches for hundreds of proposed creations he knew he would never live to realize. He went so far as to say that sometimes he didn't even bother with notes, that merely having the idea was enough. All in all, a truly inspirational story -- not in any sappy, sentimental way, but as an example of someone actually living out his dreams, no matter what the personal costs. It should definitely send the reader in search of his art -- highly recommended!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
more phots
27 May 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I know THAT sounds ridiculous, but . . . this book could use photos of the works being discussed. I know there is the internet to look things up, but it's much easier to just turn a page and see what this or that earth-shaking work of art might look like over and above writer description if it were in the very book we are holding in or hands.
Other than that, this is a decent book - another take on a great artist beside his own bio version.
Other than that, this is a decent book - another take on a great artist beside his own bio version.
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