Rayographs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Photographic images created by arranging objects directly on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to light, producing silhouettes and tonal variations
2. Pictures produced by laying items on photographic paper and projecting light through them, creating cameraless images with shadow effects
3. Images made by positioning objects on sensitive film or paper and illuminating them to capture their forms as abstract compositions without using a camera

Etymology: Rayographs is the plural of rayograph, a term coined by the American artist Man Ray, born Emmanuel Radnitzky, who shortened his surname for his artistic name. He made these images by placing objects such as keys, combs and paper cut-outs directly onto light-sensitive paper, then briefly exposing it to light. The objects left pale silhouettes on a dark ground, with no camera involved. He built the coinage from his own name, "Ray," and the suffix "-graph," from the Greek "graphein," meaning "to write." The word therefore reads as "writing by Ray," with light doing the writing.

Synonyms: photograms, rayograms