Fountain (second version) Photo © The Philadelphia Museum of Art/Art Resource, NY © Succession Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP, Paris/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2013Fountain (second version)
Marcel Duchamp. 1950 C.E. (original 1917). Readymade glazed sanitary china with black paint.
Curator Note
"The most influential artwork of the 20th century. Duchamp purchased a standard urinal, laid it on its back, signed it "R. Mutt," and submitted it to an art exhibition. He invented the "Readymade," asserting that art is defined by the artist's choice and idea, not their manual craft. It questions the very definition of art."
Form
- Standard porcelain urinal.
- Placed upside down (reoriented).
- Signed "R. Mutt 1917" in black paint.
- Smooth, white, industrial aesthetic.
- Absence of the "artist's hand".
Function
- To challenge the definition of art (Conceptual Art).
- To mock the solemnity of the art world.
- To test the "no jury" policy of the Society of Independent Artists.
- To shift art from the retinal (eye) to the cerebral (mind).
- To create controversy.
Content
- R. Mutt: pun on "Mott Works" (manufacturer) and "Mutt and Jeff" (cartoon).
- The object becomes "art" by being placed in a museum/gallery context.
- The "Fountain": ironic title (water goes in, doesn't come out/spray).
- A "philosophical question" in physical form.
- Rejection of "good taste".
Context
- Dada movement: anti-art, anti-reason (reaction to WWI).
- Original was lost/thrown away; this is a sanctioned replica.
- Stieglitz photographed the original.
- Transforms the viewer into the creator of meaning.
- Foundation of Conceptual Art.