Orchestra Possibly 1926

Man Ray made this work, Orchestra, using colour stencil on paper. Look at the way these abstract shapes stack up, so that the colours almost vibrate against one another. He wasn't trying to paint things as they appear in the world, but to find a visual language to capture something deeper. I love the colours, how they sit together and play off one another in this image. The red section on the right suggests the shape of a violin head, while the geometric sections combine to suggest other instruments, and a sense of musical harmony. Each shape is clearly delineated, and their colour solid, however, the arrangement on the page generates a sense of openness and movement, like Matisse's cut outs. Man Ray like Picabia or Duchamp, was interested in art as a playground for ideas, somewhere you could embrace ambiguity and have fun.