The Daily Mail and Perez missed their artistic calling

[Image via Xposure Photos].

In 1924, Man Ray created Le Violon d'Ingres using a photograph of his lover Kiki de Montparnasse and some cleverly applied paint to suggest that her feminine curves were like those of a violin. This iconic image is cerebral but also very flirty and tongue-in-cheek, which explains why it may be vaguely familiar to you. When the singer Katy Perry donned a beautiful (if incredibly 80s) emerald green dress which featured an almost life-size reproduction of Man Ray's piece, both the Daily Mail's Showbiz section and the pages of celebrity gossip queen Perez Hilton were soon bursting with news of Katy's unusual outfit. They did not, however, have any idea where the original image came from, or even that it was anything other than a new concept dreamt up by the dress designer. I don't expect celebrity websites to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of art history (God knows, I don't log onto these sites expecting anything other than light relief and a bit of a laugh), but you'd think that someone out there would have told them this was the work of a pivotal 20th Century artist before it was left as being so anonymous. Man Ray should not be forgotten by the public so soon! I only wish we could see more of his work incorporated with modern fashion.