World of Art

In the world of art, one category branches out from the rest. "Dada" a new breed of art, combined surrealism and exploring new ideas. One of Dada's most risky artists was Marcel Duchamp. His most famous and one of his more "childish" pieces was one entitled, "Fountain". The sculpture, if that's what you like to call it, consists of a single urinal, with the name "R. Mutt" painted on the side. The whole piece looked like it took Duchamp about twenty minutes to make. Still, this simple piece suprises me to think that such a thing could e called art, or better yet, be put on display in an actual art museum. At first the piece wasn't allowed to be exhibited, because the Society of Independent Art rejected it. But of course, it found itself a home when people all of a sudden had an interest in "anti-art" which was the whole point of this piece. Yes, the whole point of "Fountain" was to piss off the art world and then see if it could become an excepted piece of art. And yes, Duchamp's silly dream came true, for his sculpture became famous and he became rich. But all my personal feelings don't agree with other people's feelings.

When people look at the "Fountain" they say "is this really art?", some people think that he is more influential than Picasso and Matisse. In BBC news the art expert Simon Wilson said, "The choice of Duchamps' Fountain as the most influential work of modern art ahead of works by Picasso and Matisse comes as a bit of shock." So it is clearly hard for people to decide what art is. Also in BBC news Duchamp has influenced many contemporary artists, including Tracey Emin Ð'- her unmade bed was inspired by the French artist, Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" came on top of a poll of 500 experts in the runner up for a Turner Prize. He probably never thought the "Fountain" will bring this much publicity. To the non-art world he was saying anyone can do art no matter the name. Signing the urinal "R. Mutt" rather than with his own name indicates obviously that he was pulling a fast one rather than making a serious artistic statement.

Duchamp used a phony name simply to protect his own identity. His intention, it appears, was intended to test the "artistic freedom" which was supported by the Society of Independent Artist, which