SPOONED

 

“The spoon’s color does not change the soup’s taste.”

 

~ Matshona Dhliwayo ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from a photo taken in Paris in May 2019.

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© 2021 nightpoet – all rights reserved

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FLOAT AND FLOW

 

“To create is divine, to reproduce is human.”

 

~ Man Ray ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from a photo of Man Ray’s “Cadeau” (Edition 1974 number 1214 / 5000) taken in October 2019.

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© 2021 nightpoet – all rights reserved

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THE RED ROOM

 

“Is it possible that existence is our exile and nothingness our home?”

 

~ Emile M. Cioran ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from a photo taken in February 2021.

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© 2021 nightpoet all rights reserved

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SPOONED

 

“The spoon’s color does not change the soup’s taste.”

 

~ Matshona Dhliwayo ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Paris in May 2019.

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© 2019 nightpoet all rights reserved

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THE GIFT

 

“There are objects that need names.

My works were designed to amuse, annoy,

bewilder, mystify and inspire reflection.”

 

~ Man Ray ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo of Man Ray’s Cadeau (Edition 1974 number 1214 / 5000) taken in October 2019. This object is from the author’s personal collection.

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© 2019 nightpoet all rights reserved

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CARNET EROTIC, PAGE ELEVEN

 

“The prettiest dresses are worn to be taken off.”

 

~ Jean Cocteau ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo of an actual page of Jean Cocteau’s Carnet Erotic, (page eleven), taken in Paris in June 2019.

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© 2019 nightpoet all rights reserved

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NEXT TO LAST TANGO IN PARIS

 

“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.”

 

~ William Shakespeare ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo of street art taken in Paris in June 2018.

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© 2018 nightpoet all rights reserved

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ÉLECTRIQUES DERRIÈRE

 

“The ass is the face of the soul of sex.”

 

~ Charles Bukowski ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in February 2018. Photo courtesy of Mühlberger Media Inc.

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© 2018 nightpoet all rights reserved

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THE FACE IN THE WINDOW, THE FACE IN THE MIRROR

 

REFLECTING ON THE PAST

 

Taking photos of reflecting windows and surfaces always fascinates me. And often, of course, the results are self-portraits. This one was taken at the Hôtel Istria, a famous small hotel located on the Rue Campagne Première next to the building in which Man Ray once had his studio. Some of the more well known guests at the hotel in the 1920’s were Man Ray, Kiki, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, Moïse Kisling, Erik Satie, Rainer-Maria Rilke, Tristan Tzara and Louis Aragon. Through one of the hotel windows I spotted a mirror in a room and created this double reflection self-portrait in the spirit of Man Ray…

 

Photo taken at the Hôtel Istria on the Rue Campagne Première in Paris in May 2015.

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© 2015 nightpoet all rights reserved

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A PARIS JOURNAL – A ROSE FOR MAN RAY

 

A cool, cloudy day in Paris today, a good day to visit the Cimetière du Montparnasse and pay my respects to one of the Twentieth Century’s greatest photographers, Man Ray. I spent some time researching his life this past year and wanted to lay a rose on his and Juliet’s grave. One of his studios was located on the Rue Campagne Première, just a short walk from the cemetery. For more information about Man Ray please see my posts from last year:

 

https://nitepoetry.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/the-paris-journal-xvi/

https://nitepoetry.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/unconcerned-but-not-indifferent/

 

Placing a red rose on Man and Juliet Ray’s grave in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.

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Man Ray’s studio at 30-31bis on the Rue Campagne Première on the ground floor at the left of the photo.

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Both photos taken in in Paris in May 2015.

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© 2015 nightpoet all rights reserved

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THE PARIS JOURNAL – XVI

 

A VISIT TO MAN RAY’S STUDIO

 

Recognized as one of the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century. Man Ray’s groundbreaking photography, his experimentation in film, his painting, sculpture, collages and  assemblages were the prototypes of what would eventually be called performance art and conceptual art. He became a major proponent of Dadaism, which takes its name from the French nickname for a rocking horse. This new art form challenged existing notions of art and literature, and encouraged spontaneity. After an early career in New York Ray moved to Paris in 1921. There, he became a part of the artistic avant garde, where he became famous for his portraits of his artistic and literary associates. He eventually photographed most of the English and American writers who were then living in Paris along with many of the artists he admired, including Picasso, Matisse, Gris and Braque. He also developed a thriving career as a fashion photographer, taking pictures for such magazines as Vogue. Using the money he made from these commercial endeavors he was able to support his pursuit of his fine art efforts. A photographic innovator, by accident one day in his darkroom, Ray discovered a new way to create interesting images. He called these photos “Rayographs,” and they were made by placing and manipulating objects on pieces of photosensitive paper.

One of his most famous works from this time period was 1924’s “Violin d’Ingres.” This modified photograph features the bare back of his lover, the well known model and performer named Kiki, styled after a painting by the neoclassical French artist Jean August Dominique Ingres. In a humorous twist, Ray added the two black ƒ-holes to make her back look like a musical instrument. During this time he also explored the artistic possibilities of film, creating such now classic Surrealistic works as L’Etoile de Mer (1928). Along with his later muse, lover and partner, Lee Miller, Ray also experimented with a technique called the Sabatier effect, or solarization, which added a silvery, ghostly quality to his images.

Here in this building at 30-31bis on the Rue Campagne Première he obtained the rooms for a studio. The building, built in 1911, offered studio space that was combined with living quarters that included central heating, toilet facilities, electricity, gas and even a telephone. Quite luxurious for an artist’s studio in Paris in the 1920’s. Before this he had lived in the Hôtel des Écoles, where he had set up a studio in his hotel room. It was there that he photographed Gertrude Stein, who later wrote, “I have never seen any space…so admirably disposed. He had a bed, he had three large cameras, he had several kinds of lighting, he had a window screen and in a little closet he did all of his developing.” In his new studio he was able to expand and operate much more comfortably and efficiently. When Man Ray wrote his friend Duchamp about acquiring his new studio, Duchamp replied, “A studio in that building is a remarkable thing.” The building is located next to the famous L’ Hôtel Istria. But that is another story for another blog…

 

 In this view of 30-31bis on the Rue Campagne Première, Man Ray’s studio was on the ground floor just to the left of the entrance on the right side.

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In this view from the opposite side of the building one can see that the studio had its own small white entrance doorway on the street.

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Photos taken in Paris in July 2014.

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© 2014 nightpoet all rights reserved

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