Details

Title

Life Saver

Artist/Maker

Man Ray (American, 1890–1976)

Date

1944

Medium

Cork, wood, metal, rubber, and candy

Dimensions

15 x 9 x 3 1/2 inches

Credit

Purchase with Fay and Barrett Howell Fund

Accession #

1985.118

On View

Currently not on view

Life Saver is the quintessential Surrealist object by artist Man Ray, who furthered Marcel Duchamp’s concept of the readymade by infusing his found objects with psychological potential. With its two upright forms, central body, and candy “eye,” Life Saver suggests a hybrid human form standing like a totemic sentinel over the dream world. Man Ray’s experimental work in photography—including solarizations, double exposures, and photograms (or “rayographs”)—was also highly influential among the Surrealists.

Image Copyright

© (c) 2019 Man Ray Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris