Wendy Grossman Curates Innovative Exhibition, "Man Ray - Human Equations," at the Phillips Collection

Earlier this year the Phillips Collection opened an exhibition curated by Curatorial Associate Dr.

Earlier this year the Phillips Collection opened an exhibition curated by Curatorial Associate Dr. Wendy Grossman, an alumna of the graduate program and occasional lecturer in Photography in the Department. The exhibition, "Man Ray - Human Equations: A Journey From Mathematics to Shakespeare," has received warm reviews for its thoroughgoing and thoughtful exploration of Man Ray's fascination with, and response to, nineteenth-century mathematical models to which he was introduced by Max Ernst, in both his photographic work (especially rayographs) and his paintings. Beyond marrying Man Ray's work to many of the original models, this exhibition invites visitors to participate in considering how the mathematical models, which are derived from algebraic equations, change shape as are changed values in the equations. By altering the formulae visitors can generate new mathematical shapes via an interactive program first perfected at the Museum of Mathematics in New York.