Not on display

La Ville

Photogravure
1931 (made)
Artist/Maker
Compagnie Parisienne De Distribution De L'Eléctricité (publishers)
Man Ray (maker)
Place of origin
France (made)

Man Ray was a master of experimental photographic techniques. In the 1930s, he participated in the Surrealist avant-garde and worked as a fashion photographer for Vogue. He famously declared, ‘I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.’ In this multiple exposure photograph of neon advertising signs, which he allegedly took while travelling through central Paris in a taxi, he captured the speed and vitality of the modern city.

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photogravure
Titles
  • La Ville (assigned by artist)
  • Electricité (series title)
Materials and techniques
Photogravure
Brief description
'La Ville', from the portfolio Electricité, 1931 by Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky, Philadelphia,1890, died Paris 1976)
Physical description
Black and white photogravure; multiple exposures of neon advertising signs in central Paris.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 10.25in
  • Image width: 7.75in
  • Support height: 14.75in
  • Support width: 10.875in
  • Mount height: 20in
  • Mount width: 24in
Copy number
155/500
Gallery label
(20/02/2006)
Man Ray was a master of experimental photographic techniques. In the 1930s, he participated in the Surrealist avant-garde and worked as a fashion photographer for Vogue. He famously declared, ‘I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.’ In this multiple exposure photograph of neon advertising signs, which he allegedly took while travelling through central Paris in a taxi, he captured the speed and vitality of the modern city.
(20/11/2012)
The Paris electricity company commisioned these images by Man Ray. At the time he was a successful fashion and portrait photographer, though he is better remembered for his Surrealist work. To explore the theme of electricity he captured subjects including neon lighting and domestic implements, as well as a torso crossed by ribbons representing currents of desire.
(11 03 2014)
Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2012-2013, label texts :

Man Ray (1890 – 1976)
From the portfolio ‘Electricité’
1931
The Paris electricity company commissioned these
images by Man Ray. At the time he was a successful
fashion and portrait photographer. To explore the
theme of electricity he captured subjects including
neon lighting and domestic implements, as well
as a torso crossed by ribbons representing currents
of desire.

Photogravures
Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund
and the Friends of the V&A
Museum nos. E.1646, 1648, 1651, 1653-2001
Credit line
Purchased with Art Fund support and the Friends of the V&A
Production
From the portfolio Electricité published in an edition of 500 copies by the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution de l'Electricité, Paris
Summary
Man Ray was a master of experimental photographic techniques. In the 1930s, he participated in the Surrealist avant-garde and worked as a fashion photographer for Vogue. He famously declared, ‘I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.’ In this multiple exposure photograph of neon advertising signs, which he allegedly took while travelling through central Paris in a taxi, he captured the speed and vitality of the modern city.
Bibliographic reference
Stephen Bury, ed. Breaking the Rules. The Printed Face of the European Avant Garde 1900-1937 London: The British Library, 2007. ISBN: 978 0 7123 0980 6.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1651-2001

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Record createdAugust 7, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O66887/la-ville-photogravure-man-ray/
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