Journal

Alba Amicorum x Man Ray Trust

#artists

A limited-edition series of scarves based on the original paintings and photographic works of Man Ray

A Man Ray scarf in black and white with an abstract image of a woman pictured on a dark background with a single shaft of bright light cutting across it.

“duality” - inkjet print

During his career, Man Ray collaborated with a diverse group of creatives ranging from Kiki de Montparnasse and Francis Picabia to Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel.

It is in this spirit that Alba Amicorum has partnered with the Man Ray Trust to present a new interpretation of the artist’s work — a limited-edition series of scarves based on original paintings and photographic works.

after “non-abstraction” - edition of 20

after untitled rayograph - edition of 60

“I paint what cannot be photographed, and I photograph what I do not wish to paint.”

- man ray

Experimenting in his darkroom, Man Ray placed objects on light-sensitive paper to create his signature artform — the “rayograph”— which Jean Cocteau aptly described as “paintings with light”. Working with muse and protégé Lee Miller, Man Ray used the process of solarization to create stunning portraits, nudes and still-lifes in which subjects circumscribed by shadowy lines appear to radiate a heavenly light.

In addition to his studio practice, Man Ray worked on and off as a fashion photographer for magazines including Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Even while making photographs within a commercial context, Man Ray introduced elements of his avant-garde style including double exposures, multiple shadows, severed limbs, masks, and veils. Some of the artist’s most iconic images — like the portrait of Kiki de Montparnasse next to a wooden African mask (Noir et blanc, 1926) — were first published in fashion magazines.

after “le beau temp” - edition of 20

A man of many ideas, Man Ray always endeavored to materialize a particular idea using whatever he found to be the most appropriate medium.