Non-Euclidean Object

Author: Marijke Peyser

Non-Euclidean Object is a replica of the lost original of 1932 and one of an edition of nine copies made in 1973.^[1] The object consists of a spherical shape built up from solid hexagons and open pentagons and a rubber hose tied in a knot. These components are held together by a rod. The irregular shape of the hose contrasts with the perfect geometric structure of the sphere. This work represents the Surrealists’ pursuit of uniting incompatible components, in this case the alienation that follows the ‘meeting’ of the chaos of life and the order and regularity of mathematics. Man Ray called this object Non-Euclidean Object, ‘explaining’ it as ‘anything with holes in it, like humans’ and remarking ‘Is Euclid lucid? Euclides élucidé’.^[2]

The artist spoke about his fascination with particular objects: ‘I am tired of being surrounded by objects I can smile at, be indulgent with – objects which amuse me and arouse in me a sense of tolerance and superiority. I want objects that disturb, mystify and intimidate me, whose function I cannot define. To become like certain objects, an obstruction, useless, cumbersome, yet indispensable.’^[3]

In 1931, Salvador Dalí’s suggestion of making Surrealist objects gave the Surrealist movement a new lease of life (see Objet scatologique à fonctionnement symbolique).^[4] In 1933 Pierre Colle’s gallery in Paris devoted an exhibition to Surrealist objects. Man Ray was represented by his Non-Euclidean Object and took a photograph of the exhibition space in which contributions by Dalí and other artists can be seen.^[5]

Non-Euclidean Object belongs to a series of mathematical objects Man Ray made around 1932, inspired by visits to the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris, a centre for mathematical research. There he saw three-dimensional mathematical models with a high degree of abstraction. Two years after making the series of objects, Man Ray photographed them (1934-36). Some of these photographs were published in Cahiers d’Art (1936).^[6] In 1938 he made a series of paintings inspired by the photographs of the hand-made mathematical models entitled Shakespearean Equations. For Man Ray those objects, and the various representations of them, had the same value as Duchamp’s famous urinal.^[7]