Item Details:

CADEAU (THE GIFT)                                                                    (Martin/Hermann/Krauss 28)

MAN RAY (1890-1976)

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE, 1921/1974

Original Edition Limited Cast iron multiple with rust patina and 14 copper nails

Edition of 5000 examples

Size: 4.0 in (10.2 cm) x 6.8 in (17.1 cm)

Signed and numbered on the grip back end

The work is accompanied by a numbered and signed certificate
Cast iron multiple with rust patina and 14 copper nails, 1921/1974, stamp-signed, titled and numbered 252/5000 on the handle, accompanied by an identification card, initialled and numbered 252/5000 in black felt tip pen, and a numbered presentation booklet with text in English and Italian by Arturo Schwarz, cast by the Mirano Foundry, Venice, published by Luciano Anselmino, Turin, in the original Styrofoam packaging, 225 x 170 x 130mm (8 7/8 x 6 3/4 x 5 1/8in)(overall)

Footnotes
Bibliography
Man Ray, objects of my affection, sculptures and objects, catalog
raisonné, 1983 reproduced in black and white, p.128

This strange object embodies the spirit of the Dada movement that erupted in 1916 in reaction against the chaotic destruction and mass slaughter of World War I. Man Ray made the original version in 1921 for the opening of his first solo exhibition in Paris. Upon leaving the gallery for a drink, he spied an iron for pressing clothes in a hardware store, purchased it, along with tacks and glue, assembled the object, and placed it in the gallery as a "gift" for a random visitor. By the time the show closed, the object had disappeared, snatched by an unknown admirer, only to be reconstructed by the artist later in life. By gluing carpet tacks to a hand iron, Ray transformed a common household tool into a threatening, nightmarish object. Deprived of its functionality and associations with domestic life, this perverse iron assumes disturbing associations with the world of irrational violence and sexual desire. The work is accompanied by a numbered and signed certificate. Cast iron multiple with rust patina and 14 copper nails, 1921/1974, stamp-signed, titled and numbered 252/5000 on the handle, accompanied by an identification card, initialled and numbered 252/5000 in black felt tip pen, and a numbered presentation booklet with text in English and Italian by Arturo Schwarz, cast by the Mirano Foundry, Venice, published by Luciano Anselmino, Turin, in the original Styrofoam packaging, 225 x 170 x 130mm (8 7/8 x 6 3/4 x 5 1/8in)(overall) Footnotes:Bibliography Man Ray, objects of my affection, sculptures and objects, catalog raisonné, 1983 reproduced in black and white, p.128