Dada and Surrealism: (YANG Sihan) talks on (Man Ray)'s Gift}, {1921}.

 

 

 

 

Cadeau, or ‘Gift’, is a famous art work by Man Ray, who was an American artist that involved in Dada and surrealism movements with paintings, assemblage-objects and photographs. He collaborated with Duchamp to make some art works in New York and was also active in Paris. ‘Gift’ is an assemblage-art work that he created at the day when he was having his first solo exhibition in Paris. He went to a hardware store, bought a flatiron, some nails and glue and made the art work right at his exhibition.

The art work is a combination of two different kind of objects: a flatiron, and several nails. The artist glued the nails to the bottom of the flatiron, placing them in vertical line. The flatiron and the nails are both in very simple shape without much ornament or decorations. However, the original piece was stolen at the day of exhibition and afterwards Man Ray made different version of it, using different flatirons that dated back different period of time since it is difficult for him to find identical ones during that period.

 (1)Ready-made

This is an example of ready-made art. Ready-made is a term coined by Marcel Duchamp which means to select and present every day, mass-produced objects and design them into art. This concept aims at bringing a new definition of art. “Utilitarian objects achieve......”(quote by Duchamp, cannot find it)

The artist, Man Ray, just simply used two daily-life utilitarian objects - flatiron, which is a domestic tool that is mass-produced by factory and commonly-used in daily life and nails, which were made of copper and can be used both for industrial or domestic assemblage - to create a totally new object that is no longer with the same functions. Besides attaching the nails to the flatiron, the artist did not do any other decorations. He created this work by simply selecting the commodities and presented them in a new way, which challenged the traditional definition of art in people’s mind and the common thought that art work is different from commodities.

(1) Confrontation of two alien objects.

Man Ray selected these two alien objects that were both commonly-used in daily life but do not contain any aesthetic values. They are normal, simple, and unattractive since they were simply designed for everyday use instead of appreciation or decoration. Although the flatiron contained some aesthetic factors, like the stream line of the holders but it is still too simple to be declared as an art work. They are functional objects that have their own identity. Moreover, these two objects are actually irrelevant to each other that they cannot be used together. But Man Ray picked these two objects and placed them together, creating a confrontation, a conflict, an unexpected combination. The nails created a feeling of aggressively, sharpness, like a weapon that shows its untouchability out of the underside of the flatiron, which was supposed to be a non-aggressive, smooth item, without sharp angles or compositions. It reminds beholders of tools of torture in medieval world.

(2) Functionality, utilitarian.
By combining these two objects the artist created an entirely new object that is not familiar for the beholders anymore. It is a creation of conflicts. Moreover, it lost its original identities – flatiron is not workable as a tool to smoothen clothes and nails are not used to connect things together but instead face their sharpness to the world. Its practical function lost, that it can no longer be used as a functional, utilitarian object. It became kind of useless.  Man Ray was playing with the functionality of the objects. By doing this he turned utilitarian objects into useless objects, he turned something into nothing.

(3) Art?
This assemblage object is declared by the artist as an art work and he even signed the title and his name on the object, just like what Duchamp did for his work "Fountain". It pointed out a question that, what is the characteristic and classification of art? What can be considered as an artwork? It challenged people's common sense about what art is supposed to be. There are different opinions about what art is but a daily-life object is surely not a common subject since commonities are usually not defined as art since they are designed for utility and do not contain much aesthetic values.  Moreover, the artist did not take much effort to put his skill and technique into making it, which is contradictory to what usually artists did for their artwork.

(3) interesting interpretation
There are various interpretations of this art works. Some opinions think that the flatiron suggests feminine since it is a domestic object that is mostly used by female. And the nails are more industrial and thus it suggests masculine. So the art work is a confrontation of these two powers which brings out interesting thinking about the confrontation between male and female. What's more,  some other opinions think that the nails suggest the aggressive power of  female since the feminine movements had already started at that period of time.
As for Man Ray himself,  he was told by the hardware store keeper that he shouldn't use the flatiron anymore if he stuck nails to it. But Man Ray used the art work to tear a piece of dress and told a young girl to wear it while she was dancing and spinning. While she was dancing, one can see her body through the fragments of the cloths, which might seems sexual, sadistic.

(4) This art work is nonsensical, illogical, surreal. It can not be easily read by psychological analysis, which is something that dada artist doesn't like. The idea of  free-association is used in this object and that is why it is also considered as a surrealism art work.  The combination of two alien object created such a feeling that this object is not an daily, normal object in people's life and it doesn't fit with human's logical thinking.

(5) What's more, according to duchamp, the text and title are important elements of an art work which can provide beholders with a certain direction for them to appreciate the work. The title might extend the actual representation of the subject, and give beholders space for imagination. In this art work, the title provides an ironic perspective that a useless flatiron, with scarying nails which made it look like a weapon is titled as a gift. The receiver of the gift and the emotional effect that this "gift" will bring become interesting questions for beholder.

 
This art work is made in the spirit of Dada.  

(1)Anti-art

Dadaism is anti-art. Dada artists were tired of the art style, the commercial functions of the art at that time. And also they disliked the expressionist works which are involved with too much expressions. So they want to challenge art at that time. It aims at challenging people’s definition and cognition about art. Duchamp’s work, Fountain, is another good example that challenged people about how to identify art. In the past long history of art, art is defined as fine art, and some opinions think that art should contain an intention of the artist to make art, to bring aesthetic influence on the beholders. Art should take effort. Art should carry the ability to provide aesthetic satisfactions. And some opinions believe that art should have something more than daily life, that’s why art is distinguished from other daily objects.

But dadaists pointed out a new opinion that, daily objects can be art as well depends on how you read the art work. “The selection and presentation of daily life objects....”by duchamp(sorry, i will update with this quote later) . This art work of Man Ray, made fun of people's common thought about what art was supposed to be and brought a new attitude that everything can be art as well.

(2) anti-rational
Dadaist disliked the psychological studies of Freud. They prefered creating works that are more objective. They wanted to escape from the crucial reality and the complex, depressed emotion that brought by the war and the social environment. Man Ray created this new object without much logical sense that can be read by psychological analysis. It is rational, it is alien with anything that people are familiar with in their real life. It is out of people's normal understanding about the world and the objects in it.

 

(3) anti-emotional
In contrary with expressionism artists, dada artist refused to contain too much emotion into their artworks. In this art work, beholders cannot read any personal emotions or individual perception. It contains no signs of feelings, emotions, social background knowledge, or any other interpretation of events. It is simply a presentation of two lifeless object. It is emotionless, objective and was not even able to provide aesthetic satisfaction. It might be quite difficult for beholders to reflect anything on. It is nothing and meaningless, which is part of the values and ideas of dadaism. For the beholders, this flatiron might be obscure or too simple.

(4) Anti-artists, anti-skills

 

“in whatever form [the idea] is finally presented, by a drawing, by a painting, by a photograph, or by the object itself in its original material and dimensions, it is designed to amuse, bewilder, annoy , or to inspire reflection. But not to arouse admiration for any technical excellence usually sought for in works of art. The streets are full of admirable craftsmen, but so few practical dreamers. "  1

Man Ray didn't show his artistic skills or applied any extra technique to this object. What he has done can be done by other ordinary people who might even possessed no knowledge about art at all. The concept, the thinking that an art work managed to bring was the core value, instead of external skills and technique. According to Man Ray, skills are something that craftman can also possess and that was not the essential part of an art work. Moreover, he didn't show his artist-ego in the work that beholders cannot read any information or individual expression of the artists except for his signature, which was actually more like a commodity label.

(5) playful

            This art work made fun of the functionality of mass-produced commodities and definition of art. It was made in a random way without much preparation. It is a work of playfulness. It played around the identity, the practical usage, the confrontation, the structure of objects and also played around with text.

In general, Man Ray's Gift is an amazing dada art work that provokes various thinking and interpretation and it is such a vanward work that subvert traditonal ideas and definitions.

 

 

 

 

Reference

Blythe Sarah Ganz,  Powers Edward, Looking at Dada, New York, N.Y.  Museum of Modern Art, c2006