Compendium
CaD Langues
FOUTAIN
MARCEL DUCHAMP - What Is Art?
[VIDEO] [26 minutes]
What is Art? MARCEL DUCHAMP
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp bought a mass-produced porcelain urinal from a plumbing suppliers, laid it on its side, signed it, and then put it in an exhibition and called it art.
The Fountain, as it was named, has cast a long shadow not only over the 20th century but also the 21st century. Over 100 years after it was created, it is still considered one of the most revolutionary works in art history. It is also one of the most contentious.
Marcel Duchamp (born July 28, 1887, Blainville, France—died October 2, 1968, Neuilly) was a French artist who broke down the boundaries between works of art and everyday objects. After the sensation caused by Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) (1912), he painted few other pictures. His irreverence for conventional aesthetic standards led him to devise his famous ready-mades and heralded an artistic revolution. Duchamp was friendly with the Dadaists, and in the 1930s he helped to organize Surrealist exhibitions. He became a U.S. citizen in 1955.