Duchamp's Readymades: How MoMA’s Curator Explains Art’s Big Shift

According to the classical definition inherited from the 17th century, art is conscious human activity that aspires to and achieves beauty. This was the canon accepted in the 19th century, but beauty is an ambiguous notion—in its broadest sense it means anything that pleases, while in a restricted sense it is equilibrium, clarity, and harmony of forms. This characterization fits classical art but hardly applies to Gothic, Baroque, or 20th-century art. The second distinctive feature is that art represents or reproduces reality. This definition was not applicable to all art but only to mimetic art like painting, sculpture, and poetry. Baty attempted to apply this principle to music and gesture art, concluding imitation of nature is common to all arts, but the word imitation has many meanings, none of which apply to all art. The third feature is the creation of forms—art is the figuration that gives form to matter and spirit. This was incorporated into the definition only in the 20th century, but even this has difficulties from the diversity and ambiguity of terms. The fourth feature is expression, shifting from the activity of people to the intention of the artist, with proponents like Croce and Kandinsky. However, expression is only the objective of some artistic schools and does not constitute the distinctive feature of all art. The fifth feature is that art produces aesthetic experience, but this definition is too broad because aesthetic experience can be produced by things other than art, and too restricted because the effect of many 20th-century works is of a different nature. The sixth feature is that art produces a shock—the most recent definition. Many modern artists believe their task is to produce experiences that are shocking, disconcerting, or scandalous. Additional definitions include Kierkegaard's and Langer's view that art creates forms symbolizing human emotions, and the identification of art with creativity, but science and technology are also creative. Each definition contains part of truth but none can do justice to the entire field. The class of things to which art belongs is extremely extensive and varied, and it was not until modern times that all these different things began to be grouped into a single class. Some terms resist being defined with exactitude—their denotation tends toward an extensive area, and the varied objects denoted have no common feature but at most a family resemblance. This category of concepts is called open concepts, and in a brief span, all basic concepts of aesthetics—beauty, aesthetic experience—were relegated to this category. The conclusion was that art is an open concept, affecting not only art but any human activity.

Historically, art was equated with skillfully made things. Before the modernist period, art should be considered as design, where the focus was on craftsmanship and technical execution. Ancient Greeks distinguished between art as quality of execution versus technology, with the quality of execution always being the predominant criterion for evaluating artistic work.

Approximately 100 years ago, art was traditionally defined as painting that involved various techniques for depicting nature, including still life, landscape, and portrait. Artists could work in different styles but the primary goal was to reproduce what they saw in nature.

The 20th century created a philosophical crisis for defining art because traditional conceptions that worked earlier centuries failed. Plato and Aristotle defined art as imitation—creating realistic representations—which doesn't work for abstract art like Kandinsky's. Beauty-based definitions fail because beautiful objects aren't always artworks, and much art intentionally rejects beauty to express ideas or emotions. Expression theories fail because some art is intellectual or abstract. Skill-based definitions fail because minimalist and conceptual art deliberately abandon technical display. Arthur Danto responded by proposing that art status comes from the 'art world' or 'atmosphere of artistic theory'—an object's relationship to a background sphere of thinking about art. George Dickie developed this into a clearer institutional theory, defining artworks as objects that have been conferred status for appreciation by the art world. Both represent relational theories abandoning intrinsic definitions, though critics argue these require institutional structures that might not be necessary.

Historically, people believed that art should be pretty and beautiful. This represents the conventional understanding of art before the emergence of modern art movements.

This segment traces Duchamp's complete transformation from traditional painter to conceptual artist. Beginning with early Impressionist works from 1902, through structural paintings influenced by Cézanne, to Nude Descending a Staircase (1912), the narrative shows his rejection of obvious influences and embrace of Cubism. The pivotal moment arrives with the Chocolate Grinder, where Duchamp deliberately abandoned spontaneous painting for mechanical precision, seeking complete control and accuracy over his work. This represents a fundamental philosophical shift from expressive handwork to calculated artistic execution.

This comprehensive segment traces Marcel Duchamp's revolutionary journey from traditional painting to conceptual art. It begins with his Cubist painting 'Nude Descending a Staircase' (1912), which exhibits Cubist characteristics including eliminating the third dimension, using simple forms for composition, and decomposing figures to be observed from multiple viewpoints. The segment explains that Duchamp stopped painting after this work because he felt painting had been exhausted. It then explores his revolutionary readymades, particularly 'Fountain' (1917), a urinal he purchased from a hardware store and presented as art. The segment explains Duchamp's concept of the 'infra-lean' difference between an object's original function and its function as art. When Duchamp acquired the urinal and gave it a new context, it became art. This challenged the traditional notion that artists must create something with their own hands. According to art theorist Rosalind Krauss, from Duchamp's readymades onward, all art became conceptual.

Marcel Duchamp's 'Fountain' is undoubtedly the most famous toilet to ever exist - a toilet so controversial and revolutionary it was named the most important artwork of the 20th century. In 1915, Duchamp, a young nihilistic but accomplished painter, made his way to New York City to escape World War I. He had excelled as a Cubist painter with works like 'Nude Descending a Staircase Number Two' that put him at the forefront of European artists. Through his local success, Duchamp grew tired of painting as he deemed it incapable of being socially challenging. In search for a more subversive field, he took a step back to learn math and physics. Between 1915 and 1917, he helped found and direct the Society of Independent Artists, one of the very first art collectives to grace New York City, which was set to hold their first exhibition in 1917 - at the time the largest showcase of Modern Art in the world.

Marcel Duchamp's 1917 work 'Fountain' (a urinal signed 'R. Mutt') is considered a foundational moment in conceptual art. When submitted to the Society of Independent Artists exhibition, it was rejected for being immoral, vulgar, absurd, and merely an ordinary object. Duchamp's response was to publish a journal article explaining his philosophy: (1) the artist's choice to select an object as a vehicle for their idea, (2) removing the object's original function by placing it in a gallery context, and (3) creating new meaning through the title and context. These three principles form the foundation of conceptual art.

Marcel Duchamp revolutionized art by establishing that the idea itself is art, not just the object. What he did cannot be seen in the object but only in the gesture, the idea, or the concept. This made it implicit that art could be conceptual. Without Duchamp, modern art would have continued painting in the style of Matisse and Picasso. He represented art as an endeavor as important as science, capable of changing the world, and challenged people to question definitions rather than accept established ones. Born in 1887 in Normandy, France, to a notary father, his maternal grandfather Emil Nicole was a printmaker whose works inspired all three of his sons to become artists. His two older brothers initially moved to Paris and became serious artists, with Raymond changing his name to Jacques Villon. Duchamp followed them to Paris in 1904, living with his brother and starting to copy his brother's work while doing humorous drawings published in local press. He began showing art in 1907, exploring different painting modes including Bonnard and Matisse before eventually joining cubism with Picasso and Braque. In spring 1912, he submitted his Nude Descending Staircase to the Salon des Indépendants, which had the rule 'no jury, no prizes' meaning anything presented was automatically accepted. However, his brothers and friends Fernand Léger, Jacques Villon, and Albert Gleizes perceived the work as deliberately provocative—a nude descending stairs was a modern setting, unlike classical nudes that reclined. They tried convincing Duchamp to change the title, but he refused, writing it in pronounced letters. This affront caused him to withdraw the painting, teaching him never to trust groups or get involved in group activities. This experience profoundly affected him and led him to leave Paris for Munich. In 1913, he wrote: 'Can one make works that are not works of art?' He felt art had become rooted in the past and needed to be rethought to take on the 20th century with advances in science and technology. In 1913-1914, Duchamp created Three Standard Stoppages—three canvases painted Prussian blue over which he dropped three pieces of string about one meter long from a height of one meter, fixing their positions with varnish where they fell. This was the first work transforming scientific experiment into art activity, commenting on standards, geometry history, and French metrology. It experimented with creating impersonal, non-artistic lines free of the artist's hand. Using chance to create forms replaces subjective taste, which Duchamp considered the enemy of art. Beauty could be defined by each generation, allowing artists to throw aside tradition and do something new. The fourth dimension was the dominant cultural hot idea in the early 20th century, with Einstein's 1919 theory displacing this paradigm for Duchamp. He explained the fourth dimension simply: hold up your hand to a wall with light from one side, and you cast a two-dimensional shadow—your hand is three-dimensional, so the shadow is a fourth-dimensional being. The fourth dimension exists outside our reality on another level. Duchamp wanted to represent this conceptually, telling viewers that no matter what the bachelors do, they don't ultimately attain union with the bride. In 1917, Duchamp submitted a urinal signed under pseudonym 'R. Mutt' to the Society of Independent Artists exhibition in New York, which had the reputation of 'no jury, no prizes.' The hanging committee convened and decided it was too indecent to be shown publicly. Duchamp didn't want it accepted—he wanted it rejected to demonstrate the fallacy of claiming liberal-mindedness when the society had betrayed its principles. When anyone can be an artist, the logical conclusion is that anything can be art. The readymade concept was crystallized later: objects designated as works of art by simply signing them. Making is choosing—choosing what color to put on canvas and where to place it. Duchamp doubted the validity of art and debunked beliefs that art is uplifting or has ethical and moral positions. By presenting a urinal in a gallery, he challenged lofty ideals around art. Readymades are switches moving between art and non-art, awakening viewers to ask why something is art when something that looks exactly like it is not. Once you've seen a bicycle wheel as a readymade, you must instantly question why it's there and why it's a work of art. The line of sight goes through the object not to your eye but further into your brain, requiring you to question assumptions about artistic value. Duchamp wasn't challenging art because he hated it—he was bored with narrow definitions and wanted to expand them, beginning a philosophical debate about what constitutes a work of art.

Art stopped depending on the artist and began depending on the system: museums, curators, critics, and universities. Philosopher Arthur Danto called this the 'world of art.' His idea is that something is art because the world of art says it is art, not because it is beautiful, well-made, or profound, but because it was validated by the institution. This completely changed the rules of the game, transforming art from a merit-based game to one of ideological and political struggle.

Art institutions, including museums and galleries, function as gatekeepers that determine what is considered pretty, attractive, sellable, and collectible. This 'art mafia' shapes artistic value through institutional validation. Collectors further reinforce this system by displaying art that signals their taste and wealth, creating a cycle where institutional approval and social signaling mutually reinforce each other. This institutional power affects which artists succeed and which artistic values are promoted.

The Salon of Fine Art was the ultimate authority over art legitimacy, combining government, academic, and institutional power. It promoted idealized, fictional themes over contemporary reality, requiring artists to follow learned formulas. This system controlled what art was considered legitimate, making it nearly impossible for artists depicting ordinary life to gain acceptance. The Salon's atmosphere was described as dead, with anatomically perfect but smoothed figures done according to conventions.

Institutionalization refers to the preponderant role of museums, universities, and other institutions in defining artistic value, which began to be established in the 16th century and extends to the present. In this process, concepts and dichotomies such as high art versus popular art, the concept of authorship, and the distinctions created from ideas of good and bad taste were established.

Before modern art emerged, artistic conventions were relatively standardized. During the Renaissance and subsequent periods, artists followed established rules regarding composition, technique, materials, and subject matter. The Academies of Art and the Paris Salon served as gatekeepers that determined what constituted 'art.' These institutions had juries and received government funding, and they were conservative in their acceptance of new artistic approaches. Artists whose work was accepted by the Salon gained recognition and financial success, while those rejected were excluded from the artistic community. The invention of photography posed a significant challenge to traditional painters, who questioned their role in depicting visual reality.