Publications

Man Ray is well-known for his multimedia contributions to Dada and Surrealism. Close-up, Fold-up (1963) most likely has roots in Man Ray’s early silhouettes, which stem from photography he produced in the early part of his career. This particular work is a visual game, exhibiting strong Surrealist and Dadaist tendencies and rich with many visual and physiological coats of meaning.

Close-up, Fold-up demonstrates the intelligence and playfulness that is so original and groundbreaking about Man Ray. He evidently appropriates his famous The Rope Dancer Accompanies Herself with Her Shadows (1916), held by MoMA, as a source in this work. The collage of the sewing kit against the silhouetted figure harkens back to the artist’s interest in dancers and their shadows, as does the play with language in the title – the title has a rhythmic, onomatopoeic quality to it, functioning almost as a visual pun. Additionally, the mechanistic aspect of Close-up, Fold-up was inspired by his close friends Francis Picabia and Marcel Duchamp in the 1910s and 1920s. The thread hanging from the center set of needles adds a further sense of movement, along with the silver needle threader positioned below it. The use of the sewing machine in Man Ray’s work greatly influenced his successors, like René Magritte.