The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations
Man Ray’s series of paintings entitled Shakespearean Equations remains largely unknown even today, despite the artist’s fame. Perhaps that is partly because, like many Surrealist works, it so stubbornly resists interpretation; it is difficult to even grasp what one is looking at. The paintings depic...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces, |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprache: | Anglais |
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Interfaces
2020
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| Online Zugang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:interfaces_659 |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:interfaces_659 https://doi.org/10.4000/interfaces.659 urn:doi:10.4000/interfaces.659 en https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/659 2020-12-15T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/h4h7 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations Interfaces Université Bourgogne Europe info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2647-6754 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1164-6225 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces Marquardt, Anne-Kathrin Man Ray modèles mathématiques peinture Hamlet surréalisme Shakespeare (William) Roi Lear (Le) Man Ray mathematical models painting King Lear Hamlet Shakespeare (William) surrealism Man Ray’s series of paintings entitled Shakespearean Equations remains largely unknown even today, despite the artist’s fame. Perhaps that is partly because, like many Surrealist works, it so stubbornly resists interpretation; it is difficult to even grasp what one is looking at. The paintings depict mathematical models and their only Shakespearean characteristics are their titles, taken directly from Shakespeare’s canon. Nevertheless, I argue that a fruitful analysis is possible by understanding the pictures in relation to Shakespeare’s texts, the reception of Shakespeare in the twentieth century, and the reception of non-Euclidean geometry in artistic circles at the time. My study thus hinges on an assessment of the context in which Man Ray produced these works. But it also takes a closer look at two paintings in the series, uncovering the textual and pictorial sources they reference, parsing the layers of meaning which are thus built up. This paper does not set itself the impossible task of producing a definitive interpretation, which would, among other things, be contrary to the Surrealist spirit. I rather hope to explore what this particular act of appropriation uncovers about the reception of Shakespeare and mathematics. La série de peintures intitulée Shakespearean Equations par Man Ray est encore peu connue, malgré la renommée de l’artiste. Peut-être est-ce parce que ces images, comme tant d’œuvres surréalistes, résistent au travail d’interprétation ; il est même difficile de saisir précisément ce qui est représenté. Ces tableaux montrent en réalité des modèles mathématiques ; seuls leurs titres, puisés directement dans le répertoire shakespearien, les lient au dramaturge. Néanmoins, cet article s’appuie sur l’hypothèse suivante : qu’une étude féconde est possible pour peu que l’on comprenne ces images par le prisme des pièces de Shakespeare, de la façon dont le vingtième siècle s’est approprié ces textes, et la réception de la géométrie non Euclidienne à la même époque. L’analyse proposée se fonde ainsi sur le contexte dans lequel Man Ray produisit ces œuvres. Elle élargit le propos en suggérant une interprétation de deux tableaux de la série ; leurs sources textuelles et picturales sont examinées afin d’extraire les significations multiples portées par ces images. Cet article n’a évidemment pas pour ambition d’imposer une interprétation définitive, ce qui serait entre autres contraire à l’esprit surréaliste. Il se propose plutôt d’apporter un nouvel éclairage sur la question de l’appropriation de l’œuvre shakespearienne et des mathématiques. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
Man Ray modèles mathématiques peinture Hamlet surréalisme Shakespeare (William) Roi Lear (Le) Man Ray mathematical models painting King Lear Hamlet Shakespeare (William) surrealism |
| spellingShingle |
Man Ray modèles mathématiques peinture Hamlet surréalisme Shakespeare (William) Roi Lear (Le) Man Ray mathematical models painting King Lear Hamlet Shakespeare (William) surrealism Marquardt, Anne-Kathrin The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations |
| description |
Man Ray’s series of paintings entitled Shakespearean Equations remains largely unknown even today, despite the artist’s fame. Perhaps that is partly because, like many Surrealist works, it so stubbornly resists interpretation; it is difficult to even grasp what one is looking at. The paintings depict mathematical models and their only Shakespearean characteristics are their titles, taken directly from Shakespeare’s canon. Nevertheless, I argue that a fruitful analysis is possible by understanding the pictures in relation to Shakespeare’s texts, the reception of Shakespeare in the twentieth century, and the reception of non-Euclidean geometry in artistic circles at the time. My study thus hinges on an assessment of the context in which Man Ray produced these works. But it also takes a closer look at two paintings in the series, uncovering the textual and pictorial sources they reference, parsing the layers of meaning which are thus built up. This paper does not set itself the impossible task of producing a definitive interpretation, which would, among other things, be contrary to the Surrealist spirit. I rather hope to explore what this particular act of appropriation uncovers about the reception of Shakespeare and mathematics. |
| author |
Marquardt, Anne-Kathrin |
| author_facet |
Marquardt, Anne-Kathrin |
| author_sort |
Marquardt, Anne-Kathrin |
| title |
The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations |
| title_short |
The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations |
| title_full |
The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations |
| title_fullStr |
The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The mathematician, the Surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations |
| title_sort |
mathematician, the surrealist, and the poet are of imagination all compact: man ray’s shakespearean equations |
| publisher |
Interfaces |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/interfaces.659 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/659 |
| _version_ |
1877293791684067328 |