1987.15
Space Writing (Self-Portrait)
Artist
Man Ray (Emmanuel Radensky)
(1890 - 1976, France)
Title
Space Writing (Self-Portrait)
Creation Date
1935
Century
20th century
Dimensions
3 3/16 in. x 2 5/16 in. (8.1 cm. x 5.87 cm.)
Classification
Photographs
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
gelatin silver print
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1987.15
This photograph constitutes and is a record of Man Ray’s drawing with a penlight in space; the fluid tangle of loops and twists is made visible by the film’s prolonged exposure time. Working without sight and with extreme speed, Ray surrendered his creative process largely to chance. The method aligns with the Surrealist aim to express the subconscious by giving up control in a process often described as automatic writing, or “ecriture automatique.” Man Ray nevertheless claimed this drawing of light rays, with his signature in reverse, as a (punning) self-portrait.