Man ray
Dada is an art movement that was formed during the First World War in Zurich. It was created by a negative reaction to the horrors and folly of the war. The art, poetry and performance produced by dada artists is said to be satirical and nonsensical. Dada got its name by Richard Huelsenbeck, a German artist living in Zurich. Dada means 'yes, yes' in Rumanian, 'rocking horse' and 'hobby horse' in French. Despite moving so fast, the movement was also quite unstable and ended quickly. Some of the artists migrated into other movements. During the 1921-22 period, Dadaism eventually was dissolved into another rival factions. One such faction was Surrealism which was started by Andre Breton. Man Ray was an American visual artist who spent most of his life in Paris. He was a large factor within the Dada and Surrealist movements. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. The Rayograph was created in 1922. Man Ray made his "rayographs" without a camera by placing objects like thumbtacks, coils of wire, and other circular items directly on a sheet of photosensitized paper and then exposing it to light. Below is an image of Ray Man.
Le Retour à la Raison (Return to Reason) is a film made in 1923 and was directed by Man Ray. It consists of animated textures, Rayographs and the torso of Kiki of Montparnasse (also know was Alice Prin). This film is a total of 3 minutes long. L'Étoile de mer (in English it is called The Starfish) is a 1928 film also directed by Man Ray and based on a short poem by Robert Desnos. The film depicts a couple (played by Alice Prin, a.k.a. "Kiki", and André de la Rivière) acting through scenes that are shot out of focus. The film has a total length of 17 minutes. Les Mystères du Château de Dé (The Mysteries of the Chateau of Dice) is another film directed by Man Ray and was made in 1929. It depicts a pair of travellers setting off from Paris and travelling to the Villa Noailles in Hyères. This 27 minute film was the longest that Man Ray directed. Image 1 is a scene from Les Mystères du Château de Dé. Image 2 is a scene from L'Étoile de mer. Image 3 is a scene from Le Retour à la Raison.