Bicycle Wheel Marcel Duchamp
It was nearly 40 years before the ready mades were seen as more than read more.
Bicycle wheel marcel duchamp. Marcel duchamp described its creation by stating. Like most of duchamp s existing readymades moma s bicycle wheel is a later version of an earlier creation made for a 1951 exhibition at the sidney janis gallery in new york. In 1913 he produced the bicycle wheel which was simply an ordinary bicycle wheel in 1914 pharmacy consisted of a commercial print of a winter landscape to which he added two small figures reminiscent of pharmacists bottles. A pair is often called a wheelset especially in the context of ready built off the shelf performance oriented wheels.
In 1913 i had the happy idea to. The bicycle wheel book. Bicycle wheel 1916 17 marcel duchamp sculpture. Most of duchamp s readymades were individual objects that he repositioned or signed and called.
In 1913 duchamp created bicycle wheel which is considered the first of his famous readymades minimally altered objects that are elevated to the status of art simply through the designation of the artist. Though bicycle wheel predates duchamp s use of the word readymade a term he coined after moving from paris to new york in 1915 it is the earliest example of this class of groundbreaking artworks. Bicycle wheel 1913 reconstructed 1964 materials technique sculptures readymades painted wooden stool and bicycle wheel impression 4 8 edition no 4 from an edition of 8 publisher galleria schwarz primary insc signed and dated under the seat of the stool fibre tipped pen marcel duchamp 1964 4 8 dimensions overall 126 5 h cm stool 50 4 h cm. In 1913 recalled marcel duchamp i had the happy idea to fasten a bicycle wheel to a kitchen stool and watch it turn 1 the result bicycle wheel is the first of duchamp s readymades objects sometimes manufactured or mass produced selected by the artist and designated as art.
Particularly in his readymades duchamp placed unprecedented emphasis on the artistic concept as paramount over craftsmanship or aesthetics.