The Gift Man Ray Meaning

With the end of World War I in 1919 came a cloud of confusion and disorientation that settled over the Western world. The war as a whole was a bitter statement of irony, as it fell short of all preconceived expectations set by Western society. The prediction of just a few months of war extended into five years, and the expectations of glory and fame returned broken by the harsh actuality of war. The expectations created for the war were not consistent with reality; thus, as the war ended, a state of confused anxiety settled in. The long-rooted values and beliefs in culture and intellect that had previously guided the Western world were being questioned and abandoned. This confusion led to revolutionary developments in the arts and in philosophy;
As stated in the previous paragraph, The Gift is a symbol of destruction and irrationality. The focal point of the sculpture is the set of brass tacks lined up in the center of the iron; these dangerous components transform the work into a weapon and, in turn, a representation of war. By stripping the iron of its purpose, Man Ray creates a simply worthless and impractical item; this parallels the basic principles of Nihilism, which focus on the idea that humanity and life do not have any worth or purpose. From another perspective, The Gift also focuses on Nihilism through its conversion into a weapon of war. At its core, war is a complete disregard for human life and ability; it is completely impartial and inherently arbitrary. In World War I, millions of men gave their lives in battles that had little to no effect on the overall outcome. These tragic experiences acted as the sustenance for Nihilism, and generated an age of anxiety that led to the generation of modern Nihilist thought. Thus, Man Ray’s The Gift clearly expresses the Nihilist changes in philosophy during the post World War One