MAN RAY <i> introduction by Mary Foresta (Pantheon: $7.95)</i>

The black-and-white photographs in this slim, handsome volume include some of the most successful work in Man Ray’s long, colorful career, combining his training as a fashion photographer with his interest in the Surrealist and Dada movements. His experimental “Rayographs,” images produced by placing objects directly onto photographic film and exposing the composition to light, may fail to excite modern readers because similar but more striking effects can be achieved with xerography and computer graphics. However, his portrait studies of other artists retain their insight and power: Antonin Artaud glowers at the camera, Sergei Eisenstein radiates brooding energy and Tristan Tzara looks as if he’s struggling to suppress a monstrous giggle.