The readymade is the term coined by Marcel Duchamp referring to manufactured objects as works of art. In class we spoke about The Fountain. The American Society of Independent Artists held an exhibition in 1917 and with a fee of $6 any work submitted would be displayed as art. Duchamp bought the urinal and turned it on a side so it wasn't functional and signed it. His work was so controversial that it was rejected, however he had anticipated the rejection. His goal was to create a piece that was so shocking that it had to be rejected. This was his way of questioning what is art.
Another work by him that I find funny and interesting is L.H.O.O.Q. Duchamp created this piece after he returned to Paris. When Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen, there were many badly reproduced Mona Lisa's on postcards and advertising. Duchamp bought a postcard reproduction of the Mona Lisa and drew a moustache and beard on her face. Like his Fountain this was also an act of questioning what is art. Not only did he alter her image but he titled the piece L.H.O.O.Q. which read aloud in French would phonetically sound like "she has a hot ass". Duchamp is deconstructing this famous painting and making it into a thing of ridicule.
In both readymade pieces Duchamp was so bold and controversial that the viewer had to question whether the piece was a work of art or not. By arising this question the viewer would further have to ask themselves why or why shouldn't this piece be a work of art. The Dada movement was a movement that questioned everything about the traditional functions of society and art, and I feel that although Duchamp was not particularly a Dada artist, the controversial quality of his work was definitely outstanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment