Lee Miller and Man Ray: Partners in Surrealism, Reunited

Comments (0) By Jonathan Curiel Wednesday, Aug 15 2012

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Lee Miller’s neck; Man Ray’s Neck.

Location Info

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Legion of Honor

100 34th Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94121

Category: Performing Arts Venues

Region: Richmond (Outer)

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Through Oct. 14 at the Legion of Honor, 100 34th Ave. (at Clement), S.F. Tickets are $11-$15.

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What's missing at the Legion are crucial details that help explain the trajectory of Miller's life and her union with Ray. That's why Burke's investigative foray is such important reading. Inexplicably, the Legion of Honor doesn't feature Lee Miller: A Life in its stores. Surrealism is just one way, albeit an important way, to frame her life. Her war photography — stark, raw, and imaginative — is the exhibit's stunning surprise, outshining the nude portraits and even Ray's recognizable works that are on display. "The surrealists were all out to make a brave new world; then the war came," Penrose told me. "As an American, [Miller] could have easily skipped back to America and safety, but she wanted to do what she could, and she used the camera as her weapon of choice." "Perhaps," he adds, "the only real training to be a war correspondent is first to be a surrealist, because nothing in the world is too hard to understand after that."