Above is an example of what you’ll see in Man Ray–Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare, opening in less than two weeks. The exhibition centers on Man Ray’s (1890–1976) Shakespearean Equations, a series of paintings inspired by photographs of mathematical models he made in Paris in the 1930s. Within the galleries, you’ll see the original mathematical models…
I recently went to Paris to participate in a discussion about our 2015 exhibition, Man Ray—Human Equations. The exhibition will bring together Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations, a series of paintings that was inspired by his photographs of mathematical models. Included in the exhibition will be the original mathematical models, Man Ray’s inventive photographs of the objects, and his Shakespearean Equations.
Man Ray painted Equation (at left above) in Hollywood based on his 1939 drawing (at right). While the composition reveals recognizable elements from different mathematical models that appear in other Shakespearean Equation paintings, this canvas contains no suggestion of human entities or references to Shakespeare.
