Fountain
Marcel
Duchamp
This picture is
the original
artwork.
Original 1917
By: Yvette Sanders
Childhood
• Lived 1877-1968 and only produced a few pieces of art.
He actually just stopped making art and took up chess
later in his life.
• He grew up in Upper Normandy in France. His grandpa
was a painter and his 2 brothers and sister were also
professional artists when he was young- so his childhood
was full of art.
• His 1st painting was made when he was a teen and was
inspired by impressionist landscapes.
• He moved to Paris and enrolled in the fancy art school
named Académie Julian in 1905.
Continued...
• He made a living by drawing funny cartoon drawings for
popular journals in Paris. He was into satire and humorso basically liked mocking people and challenging set
rules; a rebel.
• Through his brothers, he met many writers and artists and
was partially influenced by cubism. One of his paintings
was cubism slightly called “Nude Descending a Staircase
No. 2” in 1912. (Seen on next slide)
Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2
Still continued…
• That nude-cubism-inspired painting was submitted to and
exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants (basically an art
gallery of independent artists). The group didn’t like the
painting. They through the title was mocking so they were
very displeased.
• He showed the object in motion in his painting which was
a radical idea compared to the other cubism artists.
• He was faced with judgments and rejection, that he
withdrew his artwork.
• He, the next year, showed the same painting at an art
gallery in NYC. Everyone was just scandalized by its
radical ideas.
Continued once again…
• While other artists of his time produced large numbers of
works in 1 style over years, Duchamp always being the
rebel question arts production rules and when he made
art he switched up his style every time.
• He was interested in science and math which influenced
his art production.
• His art thingy called “Bicycle Wheel” (1913) the original
was lost and or destroyed. He was screwing around in his
studio and put together randomly a stool and a wheel. He
argued with the idea to use only abstract but to have
utilitarian goods into art.
“Bicycle Wheel” 1913
Continued…
• He had a minor heart issue which prevented him from
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entering WWI.
All of his friends left, so he moved to NY in 1915. he
quickly acquired supports of his art.
He was closely associated with the New York Dada
movement, with artists Man Ray and Francis Picabia.
He went back and forth between Paris and NY.
In the 1920s, he became obsessed with chess and wrote
newspapers columns about chess.
He died in October 1968.
Influences of Duchamp
• Even though he only produced very few art pieces, he
challenged the idea of what art actually is and its
meaning.
• He started new trends in Europe and the US.
• He worked closely with Surrealists- which is stressing the
subconscious or nonrational significance of imagery in art.
Examining the “Fountain”
• Porcelain urinals with “R. Mutt 1917” with black paint on
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the side.
It was from a men’s restroom- was rotated and displayed
at an art gallery.
It was scandalous as you can imagine, which made
people then and now question why it is art.
The original has been lost (either destroyed or thrown out
by accident or on purpose).
The original picture (as seen on 1st slide) was taken by
Alfred Stieglitz in 1917 after it was rejected from the
Society of Independent artists.
Later on…
• Duchamp used a fake name to submit Fountain again to
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the Society of Independent Artists in 1917.
He submitted it under the name R. Mutt (connection to
signature on actual urinal).
He was on the board for the Society but never said the
Fountain was his.
Yes again it was rejected.
He authorized for the creation of replicas including
Fountain.
Interpreted POVs
• No doubt Fountain challenged the question- what is art
and what does it mean? It went against the status quo
and challenged supposed “art” at the time.
• People also say that when making his art piece, he went
shopping in a pluming store and his choice was symbolic
because he’s saying art is something you piss on.
• The urinal is upside-down possible being veiled head of a
classic Renaissance Madonna or a seated Buddha, but
the beauty of art is that its all interpretation specific to
every different person.
Who/what is Dada?
• Mentioned earlier, Dada is a movement that started in
Zurich, Switzerland in 1916; quickly is spread into Europe
and US.
• It involved not only art but literary and theatrical figures.
• Why is it called Dada? Its not clear why but apparently its
not important.
• Key figures were: Tristan Tzara, Hugo Ball, Hannah Höch,
and Francis Picabia (His closest friend) (it’s a man).
Who/what is Dada?
• Mentioned earlier, Dada is a movement that started in
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Zurich, Switzerland in 1916; quickly is spread into Europe
and US.
It involved not only art but literary and theatrical figures.
Why is it called Dada? Its not clear why but apparently its
not important.
Key figures were: Tristan Tzara, Hugo Ball, Hannah Höch,
and Francis Picabia (His closest friend) (it’s a man).
Dada was started in Zurich because during WWI
Switzerland was neutral. They encouraged irrationality
and nonsense rather than order and reason.
Continued… Dada
• They believed that with all the rational thought it created a
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corrupt capitalist society the led to the war.
They created “anti-art” and thought they could challenge
the structure of modern society.
Duchamp and Picabia came to NY and met Man Ray and
they formed the center of the NY Dada movement.
They released journals like “The Blind Man” that brought
anti-art to the light including “Fountain”.
Duchamp focused on art that can be understood by the
mind rather than by the eyes which was called “retinal
art”.
Anti-Art
This is “In Advance of the Broken Arm (1915). Duchamp wrot
The title on the snow shovel and that’s it.
Anti-Art Continued..
• All of his art work, the Bicycle Wheel, the nude
descending, fountain, and the snow shovel one all have a
pattern. They are attempted to make unique by changing
perspective.
• The bicycle wheel turned 2 useless things a wheel and a
stool and put them together.
• Fountain was turned upside down to add a signature.
The Urinal and Now
• This art piece is now being peed on in different displays
all around the world. And people think that Duchamp
would have wanted them to pee on it. As an act of
rebellion.
• His ideas are still used today in modern art.