Man Ray: When Objects Dream

Met Museum publications make perfect gifts for art lovers.

By Stephanie D'Alessandro and Stephen C. Pinson

This is the first in-depth study of the rayograph (or camera-less photograph) pioneered by Man Ray (1890–1976) in 1920s Paris, between the Dada and Surrealist movements. The transformative, magical qualities of these experiments led the poet Tristan Tzara to describe them as capturing moments "when objects dream." Oscillating between representation and abstraction, the rayograph was ambiguous in its making and subject matter, encapsulating avant-garde concerns of the day. This book highlights connections and shared motifs between the rayographs and Man Ray's paintings, photographs, drawings, objects, and films. Stephanie D'Alessandro and Stephen C. Pinson analyze the artist's innovative methods while also exploring key themes across a broad range of his art production, such as chance, indeterminacy, transformation, and preoccupation with dualities.

Stephanie D’Alessandro is the Leonard A. Lauder Curator of Modern Art and Senior Research Coordinator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Stephen Pinson is a Curator in the Department of Photographs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

© Man Ray 2015 Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2025