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The Controversy of Marcel Duchamp Essay

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One of the most unique figures in the continuum of the art world, Marcel Duchamp changed the way we look at and produce art today. Marcel Duchamp was by far, one of the most controversial figures in art. Two of the most well known and talked about pieces by him are The Fountain and The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even . Duchamp created many other pieces that caught the attention of critics, other artists, and the population in a negative way; however, these two pieces alone, brought about the greatest amount of controversy. In 1917, Marcel Duchamp submitted his urinal, the Fountain, to the American Society of Independent Artists . The urinal was taken from J. L. Mott Iron Works in New York City, rotated ninety degrees and …show more content…

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.
As for plumbing, that is absurd. The only works of art America has given are her plumbing and her bridges.” Marcel Duchamp was showing off one of his readymade sculptures at its finest. He was making a statement that an everyday object is also art. The fact that Duchamp chose the object and called it art was just another cause for rebuttal in the art world. Now, approximately one hundred years later, everyday objects are commonly accepted as art.
Shortly after Duchamp released the Fountain, another controversial piece of art debuted—The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even . This piece was not a readymade, but a more “accepted” form of art. The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even went through many years of Duchamp researching, working on and repairing the piece. Marcel Duchamp started working on the piece in 1915 and worked on it consecutively for the following eight years. After that time frame, Duchamp took a break from it—other scholars may argue that the piece was abandoned and not merely on hiatus. Regardless of whether the piece was abandoned or on hiatus, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even was still exhibited and purchased.
The upper pane of The Large Glass represents “the

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