Marcel Duchamp and the “Readymades”
Marcel Duchamp earns the credit for changing the course of the history of art. Duchamp adapted the concept of art. His interest was in ideas, not visual products. Therefore, he started presenting objects as art, which he called “readymades.” Duchamp chose mass-produced objects, commercially available, utilitarian objects, designating them as art and gave them titles.
Duchamp’s Urinal (Fountain)
The fountain is probably the most groundbreaking art by Duchamp. It is his most famous artwork and perhaps the most brilliant idea of the 20th century. The original fountain was an upside-down that was signed and dated with the appellation R. Mutt, 1917. The Unjuried Society of Independent Artists salon in New York rejected the piece and claimed that it was plagiarism.
Duchamp recounted that the fountain was an idea from his discussion with the collector Walter Arensberg and the artist Joseph Stella. Afterward, Duchamp buys a urinal and arranges it for submission to the salon. The directors were bound by the constitution to accept all submissions, which they did except for the fountain.
The board believed that the sanitary ware was not artwork, and that would be gross regarding women. As a result, Duchamp orchestrated his resignation from the board, protesting against the council for censoring an artist’s work. In 1912, Duchamp submitted a painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 to the salon. The organizers of the salon were particularly unhappy with the piece of art. Thus, they asked his brothers to talk to him to withdraw the work, which he did. According to Duchamp, the act of the salon was a betrayal at his disposition. Therefore, when Duchamp anonymously submitted the fountain, it was a commitment test to the American Society for the freedom of expression and liberality to the appreciation of new pieces of artwork.
The main motive behind Duchamp’s fountain remain obscure. However, the art became a starting point for several artists. The fountain gave birth to the idea of art-as-concept in the 20th century, undermining the fact that the definition of the word art itself was undoubtedly unascertained.