Man Ray, Man Ray; Accident; Gray Hairs

1976-79, 15 min, color, sound
1978, 5:23 min, color, sound
 
1979, 4:17 min, color, sound
 
1976, 5:10 min, color, sound
 

These narrative explorations question the gap between what is seen and what is heard. Man Ray, Man Ray is an ironic parody of the biographical documentary, in which Man Ray the dog is used as a surrogate for his namesake, Man Ray the artist. The deadpan voiceover commentary of host Russell Connor, who narrates a biography of the artist's life, is hilariously at odds with the corresponding visual enactments of the canine Man Ray. The resulting absurdist documentary makes use of the Surrealist and Dada tactics that engaged the original Man Ray. In Accident, Wegman intercuts the narratives of three people who witnessed the same accident. Nonlinear and non-chronological, their different versions of the same incident underscore the subjectivity of observation and the disparity between visual and verbal information. Rearranging and juxtaposing their stories, Wegman reconstructs the randomness of memory. Gray Hairs is a close-up study of Man Ray as he sleeps. Focusing on the dog's fur, a seemingly simple and humorous portrait evolves into an elegantly composed study of surface tension that recalls Wegman's photographic renderings of Man Ray.

Man Ray, Man Ray: Narration: Russell Connor.