Rating: 
Summary: The guy of art
Review: Some photograhers see a pose and snap it as a statue. Man Ray envisoned etheral impressions through his works. I discovered this beautiful book of 300 duotone photos at a quaint little shoppe by the University. Don't you just love to happen upon old books unmasking new treasures? Me too. And I will definately be seeking out more regarding Man Ray's career as a commercial artist, photographer, and as a colleague of Marcel Duchamp and the New York Dadaists.These poses, these works of art, through Ray's impeccably searching eyes, have a quality of hallowedness. An American, he had moved to Paris in 1921 and quickly became one of the most celebrated experimentalists of his era. Fascinatingly, he used a simple yet efective innovation of solaraization, which bestowed a ghostly silver aura upon his posers. Just truly remarkable! Classic images of Salvador Dali, Breton, Yves Tanguy, Jean Cocteau, and even Gertrude Stein are among this embodiment. Also his creative assembled objects and a selection of fashion spreads for Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar. A truly gorgeous photograpy book to be lost in. Thank you for your interest & comment votes--CDS
Rating: 
Summary: Astounding Experimentalism Photagraphy
Review: Some photograhers see a pose and snap it as a statue. Man Ray envisoned etheral impressions through his works. I discovered this beautiful book of 300 duotone photos at a quaint little shoppe by the University. Don't you just love to happen upon old books unmasking new treasures? Me too. And I will definately be seeking out more regarding Man Ray's career as a commercial artist, photographer, and as a colleague of Marcel Duchamp and the New York Dadaists. These poses, these works of art, through Ray's impeccably searching eyes, have a quality of hallowedness. An American, he had moved to Paris in 1921 and quickly became one of the most celebrated experimentalists of his era. Fascinatingly, he used a simple yet efective innovation of solaraization, which bestowed a ghostly silver aura upon his posers. Just truly remarkable! Classic images of Salvador Dali, Breton, Yves Tanguy, Jean Cocteau, and even Gertrude Stein are among this embodiment. Also his creative assembled objects and a selection of fashion spreads for Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar. A truly gorgeous photograpy book to be lost in. Thank you for your interest & comment votes--CDS
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not an introduction for beginners
Review: This small book is part of a vague series called Icons by Taschen. They are a dim reflection on some of their larger works. This book is definitely not for beginners, not meant to be an introduction to Man Ray. However, it has some value for people familiar with Man Ray, Andre Breton and/or Dada. Think of it as material for art history or food for thought about the time. Do yourself a favor and don't try to learn about Man Ray from this book or any of the enthusiastic or overblown "reviews" of it. Start with something more comprehensive. If and when you already know about Man Ray and where he fits, get this book and carry it around when you want to feed your head a little. It is nicely done and fills that need very well. For those unfamiliar with Man Ray, he is not primarily known as a photographer and never intended to be. It is probably the ease of publishing his photographs that has distracted people to thinking of him this way. Don't miss the rest of his work, especially his writing. Read his autobiography and use his photographs as a "program" to identify the players, perhaps.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not an introduction for beginners
Review: This small book is part of a vague series called Icons by Taschen. They are a dim reflection on some of their larger works. This book is definitely not for beginners, not meant to be an introduction to Man Ray. However, it has some value for people familiar with Man Ray, Andre Breton and/or Dada. Think of it as material for art history or food for thought about the time. Do yourself a favor and don't try to learn about Man Ray from this book or any of the enthusiastic or overblown "reviews" of it. Start with something more comprehensive. If and when you already know about Man Ray and where he fits, get this book and carry it around when you want to feed your head a little. It is nicely done and fills that need very well. For those unfamiliar with Man Ray, he is not primarily known as a photographer and never intended to be. It is probably the ease of publishing his photographs that has distracted people to thinking of him this way. Don't miss the rest of his work, especially his writing. Read his autobiography and use his photographs as a "program" to identify the players, perhaps.
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