Man Ray was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in France. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. But he was best known for his photography. Like this one:

In 1923, when Man Ray lived in Paris he directed a film: Le Retour à la Raison (English: Return to Reason). It consists of animated textures, Rayographs (which was a type o photogram) and the torso of Kiki of Montparnasse (Alice Prin), who was artists lover at the time, Man Ray’s model and celebrated character in Paris bohemian circles. The movie is one of the first Dadaist films.

You can watch this experimental film below. It is a long series of unrelated images, revolving, often distorted: white specks and shapes gyrating over a black background, a light-striped torso, a gyrating eggcrate. It may look weird at first sight, but keep in mind it was created in 1923. It must have been mind blowing then! A true avant garde.