Man Ray: When Objects Dream

The first in-depth study of Man Ray’s groundbreaking rayographs of the 1920s and their interconnections with his Dada and Surrealist works

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.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(September 14, 2025-February 1, 2026)

Stephanie D’Alessandro is Leonard A. Lauder Curator of Modern Art and senior research coordinator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Stephen C. Pinson is curator in the Department of Photography, both at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.