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.
Help us make our collections more accessible by providing keywords to describe this artwork. The BCMA uses the
Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus to
provide consistent keywords. Enter a keyword in the field below and you will be prompted with a list of possible matching AAT preferred terms.
