Man Ray (1890-1976)

Man Ray (Philadelphia, United States 1890 – 1976 Paris, France) sculpture "Cadeau", iron with nails, specimen 2960/5000 cm h16.5 Gift – Iron with nails (Cadeau) is a ready-made by Man Ray reproduced in 5000 specimens. The original work was stolen during the first exhibition in Paris in 1921. The ready-made Iron with nails is also titled Cadeau (gift). The work thus takes on a contradictory meaning. Its aggressive appearance is contrary to that of a gift which should instead generate pleasure. This is one of the Dada codes, the ambiguity of uniting an iron and sharp nails. The iron is a useful object to improve the appearance of a dress. The nails, on the other hand, are a working tool. Vanity and beauty against the raw existential need of work. Furthermore, the application of the nails right in the center of the iron plate makes the object unusable as a domestic tool. The 14 nails welded into the plate also make Iron with nails almost an object of torture. The charm of the ready-made is therefore further increased by the unease it generates in the observer. Man Ray found the iron at a junk dealer and later applied the strip of 14 nails to it. The work was stolen during the first exhibition and therefore reproduced several times by the artist. The documented replicas of Iron with nails are 5000 numbered and signed by the artist. The ready-made Iron with nails is first of all a mental operation. It is a "syntagmatic juxtaposition" in which objects are associated without logical connection. What unites the objects is rather a paradox. As in the case of other ready-mades, the meaning of the work arises from a recontextualization of the object.