Électricité 1931

Man Ray made this photographic print, titled Électricité, using gelatin silver and airbrush. I just want to say, wow, what an evocative combination! The sepia tones, the airbrushed body, the swooping lines - it's all so alluring, I can feel its pull. It's as though Man Ray's gently coaxed the image into being, slowly, intuitively building layer upon layer. How the white lines are laid over the image remind me of Cy Twombly's paintings, so free and calligraphic. I can imagine Man Ray, almost as a performance, holding his breath as he slowly airbrushes the image, maybe even feeling a thrill as the photograph emerges before his eyes. It seems like he's trying to capture something essential, a feeling, a current. It’s an interesting process to think about how these artists might relate, and how gestures can talk to one another across time. I think it's amazing that these experiments continue to provoke new ways of seeing.