Literature

Made of plaster, wood, and wire, these educational objects realised in three dimensions a whole set of figures, equations and theorems related to non-Euclidean geometry. They are both the sign of an epistemological revolution and of a passage from the abstract to the concrete. During the time of the Surrealists, they came to exemplify André Breton’s notion of the "Crise de l'Objet", as laid out in an article published in the Cahiers d'art in 1936 where he commented that "an object is always recreating itself beyond where we lose sight of it."

In the video 'A Life in the Day of Man Ray', the artist himself says, “one day I was told about some mathematical objects at the Poincaré Institute. These were built by the tutors to explain algebraic equations. I went to see them, although I am not particularly interested in mathematics. I didn't understand a thing, but the shapes were so unusual, as revolutionary as anything that is being done today in painting or in sculpture. I spent several days photographing and sketching them with the intention of doing a series of painting influenced and inspired by these objects."

Man Ray manipulated the sense of scale by photographing these objects close-up against a plain background. By playing on the light and perspective, he revealed the beauty of this perfect geometric form.

The photograph that we will be exhibiting at Masterpiece London is the very print that Man Ray gave to Cahiers d’art in 1936. A variant exists in the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris.