Alias Man Ray: the Art of Reinvention December 6, 2009

A trailblazing figure in 20th-century art, Man Ray (1890-1976) revealed multiple artistic identities over the course of his career - Dadaist, Parisian Surrealist, international portrait and fashion photographer - and produced many important and enduring works as a photographer, painter, filmmaker, writer, sculptor, and object maker. 'Alias Man Ray' explores the deliberate cultural ambiguity of Man Ray, who became the first American artist to be accepted by the avant-garde in Paris. It also examines the dynamic connection between Man Ray's assimilation (few know that he was born Emmanuel Radnitzky to Russian Jewish immigrants), the evolution of his art, and his willful construction of a distinctive artistic persona. The exhibit features over 200 works including photographs, paintings, sculptures, objects, drawings, films, and a selection of his writings.