Duchampian News & Views
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National Gallery Show Highlights Modernists
May 14, 2010An exhibition opening this weekend at the National Gallery of Art highlights the interest of Deborah and Ed Shein in American modernist art. Among the works on display are Fresh Widow, an assisted and unusually complex replica readymade originally attributed to Rose Selavy. Notably, as the NGA catalog puts it, the windows themselves have been rendered opaque if not shuttered outright.
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Duchamp’s Influence Reflected in Kathmandu
May 13, 2010Nepali artist Kapil Mani Dixit alludes to Duchamp among other artistic luminaries in his upcoming show in Kathmandu, "Tribute to the Great Artists." Dixit’s engagement with Picasso in particular is a constant in his work; other paintings executed in his distinctive Himalayan-influenced style nod to Frieda Kahlo, Gustav Klimt and others.
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Last Original Chess Grandmaster Dies
May 12, 2010Andor Lilienthal, the last of the original 27 grandmasters honored by the World Chess Federation in 1950, has died in Budapest at age 99. He regularly competed against Marcel Duchamp in tournament contexts and considered the artist the most talented chess player to come out of France.
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Sound and Sculpture
May 11, 2010The emergence of sound art as a critical category has sparked new interest in the "imaginary sound sculptures" of Marcel Duchamp and his disciples like John Cage. Acoustic artist Susan Philipsz is even up for the Turner Prize. But how do these abstract soundscapes differ from the conventional category of music, and how do they converge with the pure Duchampian concept?
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Another Duchampian Tribute Wins a Prize
May 7, 2010This seems to be the season for Duchamp-inspired sculpture to win awards at regional art exhibitions. Ontario sculptor Arne Roosman recently won the Victoria Wines Award for the "Homage to Marcel Duchamp" he entered in the Art Gallery of Bancroft’s recent invitational show.
Judge Allan O’Marra called the piece "a fun and cheeky marriage of materials" and "a clever nod to art history."
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Richard Jackson’s Fountainous Bears
May 6, 2010 Often considered a "neo-Dadaist," sculptor Richard jackson enjoys punning themes, the deflation of "art" as a sublime category and intense primary color. His Pump Pee Doo, currently on display in Vancouver, is generally considered a complicated reference to Marcel Duchamp’s famous urinal, Fountain. While some critics dismiss it as a one-note extravaganza, others concede that it's pretty bright. And there are those who ponder what all this has t.. read more... -
The Artist as Prankster
May 4, 2010The legend of Duchamp continues to evolve as it spreads over the world and across the decades. The Deccan Herald of Bangalore recently printed a fairly lengthy appraisal of the artist’s career and influence that hits the high points of the Fountain’s trajectory in particular. Sometimes it’s good to get back to basics.
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Chocolate Grinder Tribute Wins Prize
May 3, 2010Joseph Saccio won the "best in show" award at the recent Art of the Northeast competition for his "Flowers for Duchamp." The mixed-media sculpture looks back to the Chocolate Grinder in a new organic format. Playful but sadly non-functional.
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Banksy Film Evokes Duchamp
April 30, 2010Reviews of the new film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" often invoke Duchamp as the patron saint of the deadpan artistic fake-out. While it would be simplistic to dismiss the Fountain as what the British would call a "piss take," there is something Duchampian in the play between simulacrum and authenticity that’s apparently at stake here.
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