MAN RAY, Cadeau, 1921
16,5 x 10,2 x 9,5 cm
Cast iron, copper spikes, cilinder shaped cardboard box, certificate
signed with initials in ink, numbered
edition 300
The work ‘Cadeau’ was published in 1921 under the supervision of founder Luciano Anselmino, Turin. Here with original box. Again it was executed in 1974 by the same founder and publisher Luciano Anselmino in an edition of 5000, accompanied by a signed and numbered plastic card and a numbered certificate by Arturo Schwarz with information about the object.
“Man Ray never destroys, he always modifies and enriches. In this case, he provides the flat iron with a new role, a role that we dimly guess, and the probably accounts for the object’s strange fascination.”
Arturo Schwarz (dealer and author)
MARCEL DUCHAMP, Tonsure, 1921
15 x 10 cm / 4″ x 6″
postcard
edition unknown
inv.MDuc 000-pr
Throughout his career Marcel Duchamp recasted accepted modes for assembling and describing identity. In 1917, having recently arrived in the United States, Duchamp found special significance in a mechanically produced photo-postcard that depicted him simultaneously from five different vantage points, thanks to a hinged mirror: ‘Five-Way Portrait of Marcel Duchamp’.
In 1921 Duchamp famously pictured himself as Rrose Sélavy (Eros c’est la vie: a pun translating to “Eros is life,” when pronounced aloud in French). He would associate himself with this female persona throughout the remainder of his career. At the same time, he posed for well-known photographs in which he sported an unconventional tonsure emblazoned with a star. Soon thereafter, he used mugshots to cast himself as a criminal of many aliases wanted for running an illegal gambling operation.
‘Portrait multiple de Marcel Duchamp’, 1917
gelatin silver print
photographer unknown
Another example of a staged portrait of Marcel Duchamp photographed by Man Ray and used for a Monte Carlo bond:
Marcel Duchamp, Monte Carlo Bond ‘Obligation de Cinq Cents Francs’, 1924
collage of colour lithograph with photograph by Man Ray of Marcel Duchamp’s soap-covered head
Photo courtesy The Museum of Modern Art, New York
