Skip to Main Content

Cadeau (Gift)

1921/1963
(American, 1890–1976)
America
Hand iron, 14 tacks, paint, wood base
Overall: 15.3 x 9 x 11.4 cm (6 x 3 9/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
Delia E. Holden Fund 2011.198
© 2013 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Location: 225 German Expressionism & Surrealism
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

The top of the iron is signed "EA MR," meaning "épreuve de l'artiste Man Ray" or "Artist's Proof Man Ray."

Description

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.
Cadeau (Gift)

Cadeau (Gift)

1921/1963

Man Ray

(American, 1890–1976)
America

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.