1926

Concrete Mixer

American, 1890 - 1976

This print, inspired by mechanical forms and the play of light and shadow against irregular surfaces, recalls Man Ray’s experiments in film and photography. In his cameraless photographs, or “rayographs”, Ray explored the creation of images directly with light, and also used the technique in his film The Return to Reason. This print reinvents cut-paper collages that he created in New York in 1916–17, and first exhibited in frames attached to a central post so they rotated like revolving doors. As re-created in Paris, Ray’s spinning shadows resonated with the avant-garde’s interest in the kinetic spectacle of light and color.