In studio class we were asked to create a trap of sorts (literal or not) for an artist that we wrote a corresponding Seminar paper for. I had chosen Marcel Duchamp because of how important he was to conceptual art and for his creation of the readymade.
Within my research I had found out that he began as a painter and did cubism paintings. This intrigued me because it was very different than his readymade work I was familiar with. His cubism work was categorized by geometric shapes, as well as monochromatic yellow and brown tones. His piece “Nude Descending A Staircase.” is the most famous of these works, and is partially what inspired me to create this trap for him.
Marcel Duchamp’s “Nude Descending A Staircase” (1912)
Due to his work with the readymade, which can be a quite literal form of sculpture, I decided to also take the idea of the trap as literal as possible. I made the piece on a physical mouse trap.
His famous piece “Fountain” was made in spite of the elitism that the art world was facing at the time. He wanted to change the perception of what something has to be or include to be seen as art. With this piece, he caused much outrage, but also much change. The piece was signed “R. Mutt 1917” on the side though, because he didn’t want to take credit at the time due to his status.
Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” (1917)
With this in mind, I had came upon the final touch for my trap. I was going to sign it just as he did.
I think this piece would attract or “Trap” Duchamp due to the unison of his history of artistic works. It would catch his eye because it includes many aspects that led him up to the fame that he currently has, and had while he was alive.
