Question

Why was Marcel Duchamps Fountain significant at the time it was made?

Answer 1

Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, a repositioned urinal signed by the artist, was significant for challenging the traditional definition of art and sculpture in 1917, leading to debates about the nature of art and influencing future art movements.

Step-by-step explanation:

Significance of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain

Marcel Duchamp's Fountain was significant at the time it was made because it defied the conventional understanding of what constituted art. Created in 1917, the Fountain was a porcelain urinal that Duchamp repositioned and signed, challenging the prevailing definition of sculpture. The work's submission to the Society of Independent Artists exhibition and subsequent rejection sparked controversy and a reevaluation of artistic norms. It stripped the urinal of its functional identity and recontextualized it within the art world. This bold move laid the groundwork for future movements such as Pop Art, Conceptual Art, and the acceptance of readymades as legitimate artistic expressions.

Despite initial scorn, the Fountain has attained a near-canonized status, being labeled by the Turner Prize committee as "the most influential work of modern art." Duchamp's artwork thus significantly influenced the trajectory of modern and contemporary art, deeply affecting artists' and the public's understanding of what art could be.

Answer 2

It is a fixture that you see every day in plumbers' shop windows. Whether Mr Mutt with his own hands made the fountain has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view – created a new thought for that object.