“Man Ray never destroys, he always modifies and enriches” (Shwartz, 1977). This essay will use Man Ray’s Gift as an embodiment of post-war Surrealism, to examine how objects may be designed to serve more than their primary function. The Gift, a multidimensional object, comprised of a 1920’s iron, with fourteen sharp nails glued onto its ironing surface, nails facing up, rendering the iron useless, is an everyday object whose primary utility was overturn to produce a work of art designed to make people think. Continue reading
