The photograph "Kiki, Noire et Blanche", on display as part of the "Jazz Age" exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Man Ray (1890-1976) was born Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The family changed their last name to Ray in 1912 due to anti-Semitic prejudice, and "Manny" shortened his name to "Man" shortly thereafter. As a teenager, he trained as a tailor in his father's garment business, which left an indelible stylistic impression on him. He learned drafting and basic art skills in high school, and became a commercial artist and technical illustrator. Enrolling in adult art classes at the Ferrer School in 1912 and deeply influence by the 1913 Armory Show of contemporary European art, he rapidly began developing a unique style of painting, collage, and photography. He became loosely associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. With Marcel Duchamp, he helped invent kinetic art. He emigrated to France in 1921, where he fell in love with actress, model, singer and muse Kiki de Montparnasse (born Alice Prin; 1901-1953). He produced primarily photographs for the next two decades. He later had a relationship with photographer Lee Miller, during which time he invented the "rayograph". He fled France in 1940 to avoid the Nazi invasion, and lived in the U.S. until 1951, focusing on painting again.

This 1920 black and white photograph depicts Kiki de Montparnasse next to a black African mask owned by photography stylist Georges Sakier. Art Deco artisans were fascinated by African art, much of which was finally making its way to Europe as art (rather than the spoils of colonialism). Art Deco commonly juxtaposed urban/rural, modern/ancient, black/white, and rich/poor, as this photograph does.

1. CMAJazzAge