Man Ray: M for Dictionary

Fondazione Marconi and Gió Marconi present “Man Ray: M for Dictionary”, a comprehensive survey of the artist’s work across media, organised around his fascination with language. The exhibition, marking the fiftieth anniversary of Man Ray’s death, traces the intersections of words, images, and objects that shaped his practice.

Man Ray (1890–1976), born Emmanuel Radnitzky to Russian immigrant parents in Philadelphia, shortened his name to reinvent his identity, initiating a lifelong engagement with linguistic play. A pioneering photographer, painter, object maker, and draughtsman, he explored the shift from manual craft to mechanical reproduction while merging formal and conceptual orders. Language, however, remained central to his output, from visual puns to alphabet drawings, photographs, objects, and paintings.

The exhibition takes inspiration from his celebrated “Alphabet for Adults”, in which each letter is paired with images representing words that begin with it, such as “D” for “delight” or “do” and “R” for “real” or “regret”, revealing humour, critical thought, and intimacy. Organised into five categories, “The Alphabet”, “Light Writing”, “Body Language”, “Objectives”, and “Mathematical Objects”, the show presents Man Ray’s experimentation with linguistic, visual, and material forms.

A second display, “In Other Words”, features works by contemporary artists including Alex Da Corte, Simon Fujiwara, Wade Guyton, Allison Katz, and Tai Shani, who extend Man Ray’s legacy through their own explorations of language as a visual and conceptual medium.

“Man Ray: M for Dictionary” offers a rich reflection on the artist’s multimedia practice and enduring influence, highlighting the inventive and playful power of language in modern and contemporary art.