Conceptual Art Of The Fountain By Marcel Duchamp

Calder discovered what he wanted: “to paint and work in the abstract” (Calder, p.133). He created relief paintings such as White Panel (1934) and applied himself thereafter to creating sculptures based on the plastic dynamics of asymmetry. Calder discovered the leaders of avant-garde, the Abstraction-Creation group. Under their influence, Calder began to look into Boccioni and Moholy-Nagy’s theories, using sculptures in motion.

There was much ado over these happenings. Articles appeared in major newspapers regarding it, but still no one knew who Richard Mutt was. An article also appeared in The Blind Man, an art journal Duchamp himself published. The anonymous author of the article defended the Fountain as art and went on to say “The only works of art America has given are her plumbing and her bridges." 3 This was the early 1900’s, so at this time the idea of “modern art” was still fairly new. People were starting to get use to it, but were not comfortable enough to be introduced to something such as Fountain. A bathroom fixture, especially a urinal, was considered too inappropriate, and was even said to be immoral. In that same article in The Blind Man, the author defends Fountain on this matter by saying, “Now Mr. Mutt's fountain is not immoral, that is absurd, no more than a bath tub is immoral. It is a fixture that you see every day in plumbers' show windows.” This is a very true statement; after all, bathtubs are not considered immoral are they? However, it being a urinal, and because of its reference to unpleasant bodily functions, it may seem inappropriate to have to study and examine it for any period of time, like art is suppose to be studied. This is certainly valid reasoning. Perhaps, however, because the urinal was flipped onto its back, and called “Fountain” rather than “Urinal”, it is divorced from the whole bathroom scene,

Required Text: Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings, eds. Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz, University of California Press, 1996.

The Art Story Foundation. (2017). Jackson Pollock American Painter. Retrieved from The Art Story Modern Art Insight:

Art by its nature is a subject of the philosophical, social, economic, political or religious context surrounding its creator. More often than not, a work of art addresses a specific topic or somewhat revolves around a particular person. Therefore, it is impossible to separate the context of a piece of painting, either historical or cultural, to its intrinsic value or the artwork's meaning. On the other hand, different cultures and time utilized specific conventions that govern the representation of objects of creativity. This essay highlights various pieces of art and their relationship to particular cultural, political, economic, or social settings. Moreover, it pinpoints how different times influence art presentation.

Overall, the ideologies discussed within the articles Written In Blood: 20th Century Art by Stephanie Dudek and Estrangement As A Motif In Modern Painting by John Adkins Richardson address similarities and differences from various standpoints. Modernistic ideologies towards social, cultural and technological changes of the 20th century are demonstrated in both articles. The article by Stephanie Dudek emphasizes on the employment of radical and transgressive values by modern artists within their work to target cultural, and artistic principles that have persisted over many generations leading to a transformation within the subject of art (Dudek 105). Furthermore, modern art set out to obtain new visions of reality as witnessed within the Cubist

Understanding art is often thought of as being an unreachable goal, but art should not be considered arbitrary because it influences the cultures and societies around us. The purpose of this paper is to define and also establish my opinions on Pensacola Christian College’s (PCC) definition of art, the bibliosophy of art, and Dr. Francis Schaeffer’s criteria for art. These topics are useful for artists as well as anyone else critiquing art, and can also serve as guidelines and standards for an artist when they create art.

Non-conformist to traditional art forms, Conceptualism challenges the viewer to delve into the mindset of the artist. It is often seen as multidimensional as it forces the audience to decipher the artists intentions. This art movement has been completely rejecting the standard ideas of art since the mid-1960’s. Since then, many artists have made a name for themselves by self-consciously expanding the boundaries of art. Many of these artists have said they’ve linked their work to artist Marcel Duchamp.

Whether Mr. Mutt with his own hands made the fountain or not has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view—created a new thought for that object.

Discuss this statement with consideration of how audience interpretations of artworks have caused debate in the art world.

Arthur C. Danto in “The Artworld” provides us with the argument that, “To see something as art requires something that the eye cannot descry-an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld.” Danto shows us the importance of the artworld in order to know that a work of art is more than just what we can plainly see. Danto provides two theories he calls the “IT” (Imitation theory) and the “RT” (Reality theory). With these two theories, Danto explains how we can define art and why “The Artworld” is needed to help understand art, because after all, “these days one might not be aware he was on artistic terrain without an artistic theory to tell him so.”

This piece is simply a men’s urinal that the artist found to be art. This piece is a staple of twentieth century art. This piece was first produced in 1917. Marcel Duchamp submitted this piece of art to gallery to make a statement. At the time he was “testing the commitment of the new American Society to freedom of expression and its tolerance of new conceptions of art” (tate.org). Marcel Duchamp wanted to redefine what the world saw as art, but also what artists saw as art. He wanted to challenge what people defined as art. Duchamp actually chose “ a urinal in part because he thought it would have the least chance of being liked” (tate.org). I think Duchamp was trying to show that art is all around us, but also that art should not be taken too seriously. Sometimes people try to overcomplicate art and make it something that it is not, and I think that is something that Marcel Duchamp really wanted to portray this through this piece. Marcel Duchamp brought about the “questioning of the structures of belief and value associated with the concept of art” (tate.org). This piece brought was not only created in a different time period and out of different materials, but also its intention was nothing like any of the other four

In 1915 the concept of “readymade” art was introduced by Marcel Duchamp when he took an ordinary snow shovel and painted the title In advance of the broken arm. He had previously turned a wheel up-side down and attached it to a stool, creating a piece he called Bicycle wheel. This was also considered a “readymade.” A “readymade” by Duchamp is “an ordinary object elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist.” Duchamp produced many of these “readymades,” but it his readymade entitled Fountain that we will be discussing here. Duchamp’s Fountain originated from a urinal that he with two other friends purchased from a plumber, took to his studio, and turned it on its backside. He painted the pseudonym “R. Mutt” on

Artworks are those that use natural tools in an aesthetically pleasing way, to express some deep meanings desired by the artist, for which this art is found. These works can be analyzed by looking at a variety of aspects individually and these elements are often called elements They are very useful for criticizing or understanding any artwork as a whole. The materials used by the artist creating the artwork in the documentary "Mystery Masterpiece", the shape of the work is the shape of which it is, including its size or its volumetric perception, and the artwork has three dimensions; the depth as well as the width and height, the three-dimensional form is the basis of sculpture, yet the two-dimensional artwork can achieve the illusion of the

Throughout the vast history of art, historians can find connections throughout the centuries. Artists from the beginning of humankind have been inspired by the world around them. From the Apollo 11 stones to present day, history and culture have provided inspiration and have been the focus of various pieces. Examining artwork from the 15th-18th century, viewers can be shown a whole world that would be unknown to us without these artist’s contributions. History, religion, and cultural events have sculpted the art world, and we can observe this through many pieces during the 15th-18th centuries.