Dissing The Dada

   Today I want to talk about Marcel Duchamp's sculpture 'Fountain'. Where to begin? It's a porcelain urinal. That's pretty much all that can be said to describe this 'work of art'. This shining example of Dadaism is something about which I feel quite strongly.

   The Fountain is merely a urinal. A run-of-the-mill mass produced piece of toilet furniture, which has been placed on it's back and signed with Duchamp's pseudonym 'R. Mutt'. This piece created controversy, with many of his contemporaries refusing to accept its validity. It was also refused for exhibition by his fellow members of the Society Of Independent Artists. I would tend to agree with them, as personally I just can't see it as a genuine piece of art. It is argued that he was putting forward the question 'what is art?'. It was Duchamp's intention to change peoples' view of the artform from the physical object and the skills required to make it, to the intellectual interpretation of the object as art in itself. I would have to challenge such a notion, after all it would surely follow then, that we would gain enough nourishment talking about our food rather than eating it.

   It has been suggested that what Duchamp was attempting to create was 'anti-art', and it was his own way of passing comment on some of the work on offer during his time. If this is the case, I don't feel he pulled it off successfully, as he spawned many imitators and in so doing created a 'bona fide' genre, which in my humble opinion is a rather a lazy and pathetic excuse for creativity, which undermines the best will, intentions and hard work of so many more worthy individuals. The way I see it, true artistic expression takes time, effort and passion. Not only should it convey quality and craftsmanship, it must also have some power of transcendence. For me, and I am sure many others, a 'pisspot' or its ceramic cousins just does not cut it.

   You may well have gained the impression from this, that I am not the biggest fan of conceptual art and it's ilk. And you would be correct. You may strongly disagree with me, and you are perfectly entitled to do so. For me, it was a period that I find to be quite undesirable, aesthetically and emotionally. Although it may have inspired some modern conventions that we have today, personally I believe that this period, and much of which followed destroyed the prestige that art once had. The legacy of this genre meant that anyone can become a renowned 'artist', simply by making a hasty scribble, splashing paint or bodily excretions or re-purposing everyday objects, 'et viola c'est l'art!'. Rant over. 

Some Links, in case you want to read on further:
Dada 
Marcel Duchamp 

(all pictures used are the copyright of the relevant owners. No copyright infringement intended.)