Man Ray: Fashion Photographer

Before there was Helmut Newton or Richard Avedon, there was Man Ray. From a fashion perspective and as fashion photographer, Musée du Luxembourg explores the body of Man Ray’s fashion work. In the display cases, this exhibit follows his Parisian fashion trail with gowns featured in the Harper’s Bazaar magazine. I highly recommend downloading the Musée du Luxembourg audio guide to explore the exhibit virtually. Even after the exhibit closes, the audioguide remains active. Some images from my visit are below the videos.

You begin with his early surrealist works and move quickly into his work with, photographer, Lee Miller and continues with designers, Gabrielle Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli and philanthropist, Peggy Guggenheim. Man Ray was an official fashion photographer at Harper’s Bazaar from 1934 to 1939. Actually seeing the photo layouts, the dresses and hair styles, or live models made to look like André Vigneau’s wax and wood mannequins brings the fashion photography to life. I enjoyed reading snippets of the Harper’s Bazaar magazine articles; first person, very personable writing. The articles put the reader at the party. The photography built a desire to look one’s best. The detailed, sensual images of fashion photography with the descriptive words of scenery were cinematography in hard copy between the wars. Man Ray was a painter, photographer, and object maker.

Man Ray participated in the Dada and Surrealist Movements

Originally from Philadelphia and raised around fabric, Emmanual (“Manny”) Radnitsky, meets the Dada artist, Marcel Duchamp in 1915. The Dada/Surrealist/avant-garde movement and Duchamp is Man Ray’s New York introduction to celebrities, artists and high society. All of whom become subjects through the eye of his camera using existing techniques in a new fashion one could say. Man Ray’s influence helped fashion magazines become cinematography one could carry around.

What I recommend

Visit the exhibition live or virtually until January 17, 2021. The audioguide is available on the application stores in English. The teaching guide and other documentation will probably disappear once the exhibition closes. For children, Man Ray et la Mode has a “livret-jeux” guide for children, in French. The web page “livret-jeux” is a treasure because you will also find past exhibitions. I wish it were possible to show you all of the images from the exhibition….

Download the Man Ray Press Release (scroll to page 5 for the English)

The exhibit is in conjunction with the Harper’s Bazaar: First in Fashion (premier magazine de mode) at the  Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD) until January 3, 2021. Twin tickets are available for these two exhibitions.

Document pédagogique (Teaching document) in French
Harpers Bazaar for the press kit in English

Musée de Luxembourg Colleen’s Paris – “When Renaissance goes Modern in Paris”

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE AND READ THE ARTICLE SNIPPETS

AudioGuide for Exhibit Man Ray et la Mode available in English on either Apple Store or Google Play-You keep it even after exhibit closes

Sample pages of the jeux-livre/children's game book for the exhibit https://museeduluxembourg.fr/fr/livrets-jeux-des-expositions

Wealthy heiress, Peggy Guggenheim arrived in Paris 1921. She frequented the Parisian avant-garde group most notably Marcel Duchamp. She would become the largest collectors of the century. Man Ray’s image was to illustrate an article devoted to foreign influential personalities living in Paris. She is wearing a Paul Poiret dress from 1923 called “the Oriental”.

Harper’s Bazaar Cover January 1937 - A Man Ray cover and his Harper’s Bazaar “Silken Shadows” October 1935

Text to “Silken Shadows” October 1935 Harper’s Bazaar describing the stockings

Jeanne Lanvin, Apollon, 1925 Silk evening dress in two parts: dress of metallic fibers (lamé), with perlage accents and an overskirt, which could be removed and worn as a cape. Jeanne Lanvin designed this dress for the Salon des Lumières de l’Exposition Internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes. Man Ray photographed the dress on a mannequin Siégel designed by André Vigneau.

Jeanne Lanvin, Apollon, 1925 Silk evening dress in two parts: dress of metallic fibers (lamé), with perlage accents and an overskirt, which could be removed and worn as a cape. Jeanne Lanvin designed this dress for the Salon des Lumières de l’Exposition Internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes. Man Ray photographed the dress on a mannequin Siégel designed by André Vigneau.

Mannequins on display at the Pavillon de l’Elégance. The Siégel & Stockman company manufactured mannequins for fashion houses and their windows. The company was created in 1867.

Photography 1937 Edition Arts et Métiers - Graphics

Minotaure magazines in display case and printed images on wall No. 5 1934

Man Ray liked to play with mannequins and make up as a reality Minotaure magazine No. 5 1934 “En pleine occultation de Vénus” “Totally obscuring Venus”

“What the country needs is” Harper’s Bazaar, July 1936 with Man Ray image

Coco Chanel 1935 Chanel began as a milliner stylist and promoted her own designs. At the beginning of the 1920s she promoted her vision of simplicity, elegance and comfort….

Madeleine Vionnet 1936, Coat dress Vionnet’s experiemental designs meshed with Man Ray’s use of transparency in film.

Man Ray Self-portrait 1932

Text to accompany the Harper's Bazaar article "The Life We Strive For"