Dark Fiction
Print
1948 (printed)
1948 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Man Ray (1890-1976), one of the most inventive artists of the 20th century, worked in a wide range of media and is especially celebrated for his experimentation with photography.He used it in combination with other techniques, and it influenced his treatment of other processes. This print evokes the qualities of a photographic negative, with its white line drawing on a dark ground that nevertheless has a luminous tonal range. This ground has been achieved by 'rainbow' printing, a seamless modulation of colour from top to bottom of the image, a process that became popular with American West Coast 'psychedelic' artists 20 years later. The process known as automatic drawing, popular among the Surrealists and prompted by psychoanalytical experiments, has also been brought into play in this image.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper, automatic drawing |
| Brief description | 'Roman noir', lithograph by Man Ray, 1948 |
| Physical description | Colour lithograph on paper, rainbow printing; automatic drawing. Linear design over 'rainbow' (i.e. shading from one tone or colour throught to another across the image from top to bottom) browns. Pattern is almost abstract but with limbs of figures and trees discernable against a 'sunrise' on a 'horizon' |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Artist's proof |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Summary | Man Ray (1890-1976), one of the most inventive artists of the 20th century, worked in a wide range of media and is especially celebrated for his experimentation with photography.He used it in combination with other techniques, and it influenced his treatment of other processes. This print evokes the qualities of a photographic negative, with its white line drawing on a dark ground that nevertheless has a luminous tonal range. This ground has been achieved by 'rainbow' printing, a seamless modulation of colour from top to bottom of the image, a process that became popular with American West Coast 'psychedelic' artists 20 years later. The process known as automatic drawing, popular among the Surrealists and prompted by psychoanalytical experiments, has also been brought into play in this image. |
| Bibliographic reference | Timmers, Margaret (ed), Impressions of the Twentieth Century: Fine Art Prints from the V&A's Collection, London, V&A Publications, 2001
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.719-1964 |
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| Record created | December 15, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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