The door Duchamp kept, which "only goes both ways. is only both open and closed."
Below is an image of "Etant Donne" Duchamp's final masterpiece, viewable only through two peep holes in a closed door. He worked on this piece secretely for twenty years nearly thirty years after he had given up art for chess. It is on view permanently at the Philadelphia Art Museum.
The Private Worlds of Marcel Duchamp. Desire Liberation and the Self in Modern Culture. full text: click here
This is one of my favorite pieces.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Philadelphia, and visited the Museum, I usually saved this for last. The first few times I viewed this piece, I couldn't stand to look for more than a few minutes, but eventually held my gaze longer with each viewing.
I saw this piece for the first time about a week ago. To imagine Duchamp, father of conceptual art, so insistent upon the intellectualism of art; create a final masterpiece based on desire and sensuality is amazing within itself.
ReplyDelete