I ask because of the following article.
I've seen some of Duchamp's stuff at the Philadelphia Art Museum and while it's not the most visually appealing stuff you'll ever see, it makes you think a little. By taking mundane, everyday objects like a urinal and putting them on public display in a museum, Duchamp forces the viewer to consider the object differently than they would in its normal setting. He uses change of setting and context to attack the notion of what makes art art - is it the object itself or the way in which we view the object?
I originally didn't get what he was doing and thought his stuff was stupid and simplistic, but when you think of artists like him more as social commentators or philosophers instead of artists, the point he's trying to make is a little easier to understand. I'm not sure it's art per se, but it's at least intelligible to the layperson. Or to me, anyway.
Most people look at modern art and think, "I could do that!" But I'm learning that it's not so much about the physical act of hanging something like a urinal on a well, but the idea of hanging one in a museum and forcing people to consider it as art. But are these people to be considered "artists?" I'm not too sure about that....
I've seen some of Duchamp's stuff at the Philadelphia Art Museum and while it's not the most visually appealing stuff you'll ever see, it makes you think a little. By taking mundane, everyday objects like a urinal and putting them on public display in a museum, Duchamp forces the viewer to consider the object differently than they would in its normal setting. He uses change of setting and context to attack the notion of what makes art art - is it the object itself or the way in which we view the object?
I originally didn't get what he was doing and thought his stuff was stupid and simplistic, but when you think of artists like him more as social commentators or philosophers instead of artists, the point he's trying to make is a little easier to understand. I'm not sure it's art per se, but it's at least intelligible to the layperson. Or to me, anyway.
Most people look at modern art and think, "I could do that!" But I'm learning that it's not so much about the physical act of hanging something like a urinal on a well, but the idea of hanging one in a museum and forcing people to consider it as art. But are these people to be considered "artists?" I'm not too sure about that....
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