Cashing out Dadaism

As demonstrated through history, art was often viewed as a sign of wealth; a rarefied commodity in the show rooms and galleries for the affluent that often disparaged the true meaning of art according to its marketability. The tables in the art realm turned when in the early twentieth century a group of well known artists formed a movement known as the Dada movement, which rebelled against the materialistic conception of the middle class society by exhibiting unorthodox works of art in order to astonish the general public into self awareness.[1] An esoteric iconoclast by the name of Marcel Duchamp was a well known artist who established Dadaism in New York and supported the rebellion against the perception of the middle class notion of art. Duchamp’s radical start began when the rejection of his earlier 1912 work titled Nude Descending Stair Case No.2 was labeled as not being pure Cubist due to its provocative and non-traditional subject matter and was the start of his rebellion against the common art system.[2]He later left painting behind and focused on making art that was beyond the visual and concentrated on the intellectual, which was something he thought impossible to achieve through painting.[3]Although he was well known as a sculptor, painter and writer, his successful coining of the term “ready-made” was one of the many ideas that gave him his popular importance. In 1963 he created a sculpture titled Bicycle Wheel, which he used to test the possibility that manufactured objects could be considered art simply because it is the artist’s aesthetic choice, making it a ready-made piece. He, like other Dada artists, withdrew from popular exhibits and made drastic decisions that challenged the meaning of art and its purpose.“Dada was an extreme protest against the physical side of painting.It was a metaphysical attitude.”[4]

When Duchamp decided to depart from the commercial aspect of art making, he wanted to continue exploring his initiative concept that relied on intellect and visual indifference.In Dialogues With Marcel Duchamp, a dialogue by the interviewer/author Piere Cabanne, Marcel mentions that “Helping artists was a virtue for rich people.It was a monarchial concept.—every period before democracy has done it…”[5]By this, Duchamp is stating that artists rely on the wealthy to provide and to buy their art, yet they are falling under the concept of dominion and becoming part of the chain that gives art its degradation as being commercially valued.In his ready-mades, Duchamp aimed for a dehumanization of art where he left no traces of skills, taste or perfectionism as an artist and focused on the rational aspects of the object itself.[6]One of Duchamp’s most famous art works is his Fountain sculpture from 1917, which best describes what he was trying to accomplish through his art.This piece is specially controversial because Marcel purchased the urinal used for the sculpture from J.L Mott Iron Works, flipped it on a ninety degree angle and signed it “R. Mutt 1917”.[7]Naturally, there is a very strong reaction from the viewer to such an intimate object. Copyright issues still exist, but Fountain successfully portrays the message Duchamp was desperately trying to send to his audience.His main principle for the use of this urinal was to cause a sense of societal shock and try to receive a response by having the viewer see such a personal, discrete object in an exposed way to simply try to get the viewer to see it as an object that requires psychological thinking. He is in some sense undermining the middle class by having an everyday, non precious object mentally become precious and not be judged by its visual aspects.By changing the name to “R. Mutt”, Duchamp also detaches value to the name, forcing it to become less commercial and in some way cheapening it.

Duchamp overall believed that the way any object appeared was not nearly as significant as their definitions.For Duchamp, “…the dynamics of how objects were ‘looked at’ found expression in the world of art, and his activities were more an exercise in redefining art than in examining art's larger social context.”[8] In other words, when artwork is being looked at it is much more relevant or important to make of art what you will, than to study its social context.Although Duchamp never sold most of his work to museums or galleries, he did sell some of his earlier paintings to the Yale University Gallery and some to private owners whom he knew.[9]In Cabanne’s dialogues Marcel also mentions the financial struggles he faced while living in New York and not selling his art. In order to financially support himself, he offered French lessons and sold his old paintings, which helped him gather the bare minimum amount of money he needed to stay alive.[10]

As an artist, it is important to approach the kind of art one produces and admires with important questions about the aesthetic development of what is being viewed and what kind of messages they portray for their audience.When studying Duchamp’s ideals and views, the suggestion that commercializing art diminishes its authenticity can be accepted as a valid statement if one were to think of art as an individualized based education, where the artist’s success does not rely on communal support or admiration. But the issues still persists: Who decides what kind of art will be successful? Is it the wealthy? Or is it primarily based on popular vote?How will we decide what purpose art serves?Is art meant to be redefined, or is it meant to be examined?

[1] Ades, Dawn and Gale, Mathews. "Dada."Grove Art Online.Oxford Art Online.3 Apr. 2010

[2] Naumann , Francis M. "Duchamp, Marcel."Grove Art Online.Oxford Art Online. 3 Apr. 2010

[3] Naumann (Ibid)

[4] Goldsmith, Steven . “The Readymades of Marcel Duchamp: The Ambiguities of an Aesthetic Revolution” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Winter, 1983), pp. 197-208. 3 Apr. 2010

[5]Cabanne, Pierre.Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp.London: Thames and Hudson, 1971. 3 Apr. 2010

[6]McMahon, Cliff G. “The Janus Aesthetic of Duchamp”Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Summer, 1992), pp. 41-51. 3 Apr. 2010

[7] Camfield, William A. “Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain: Its History and Aesthetics in Context of 1917.” Marcel Duchamp, Artist of the Century. (1996)3 Apr.2010

[8] Adcock, Craig and Amelia Jones . "Duchamp, Marcel." Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. Ed. Michael Kelly. Oxford Art Online. 5 Apr. 2010

[9] Cabanne (Ibid.)

[10] Cabanne (Ibid.)