Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of rayography by American-born artist Man Ray. In the 1920's the abstract visuality of rayography (rayography is historically known as photogram) was in opposition to "straight photography" which proclaimed the primacy of the photorealistic language as well as to "pictorialism", the direction destroying the documentary by using special manipulation that turned a photo into a picture. Man Ray's experiments allowed him to take the position of a lead photographer of modernism, as well as to get orders from the most famous illustrated magazines: Vanity Fair, Vogue, Vu, Harper's Bazaar. Rayography by Man Ray has really become synonymous with what today is called media art, where the media implies providing the subjectivity of artist, regardless of the area of his activities. The formal-stylistic analysis was applied as a primary method of the research. In addition to this the problem-logical method was applied; it allowed dividing the topic into a number of more specific aspects which were considered in a logical sequence and then, in accordance with the general context of the study, the main conceptual items of the article were derived. The novelty of the research is associated with the perspective research: rayography is considered not only as the original author's work, but also as an artistic brand, successfully functioning as Ray’s specific cultural policy. The invention of rayography by Ray is largely linked with the development of the strategies of mass culture, which in its turn stems from the Dadaist experience of the artist and, to some extent, with his American origin, that suggested a clear primacy of pragmatism over idealism. Man Ray brought a photograph beyond its representational capabilities, turning formalistic aesthetic practice into a quite successful commercial product.