Before the introduction of the concept of the readymade, a work of art was considered to be an artifact or a physical object; for an item to pass for a piece of art, it had to come from the traditional paintings, which was also referred to as retinal art. 1 In the view of Marcel Duchamp, retinal art was only visual and appealing to the eyes without engaging the brains. However, in the 1900s, Duchamp introduced the concept of the readymade, which reinvented the definition of art to include other aspects such as a concept or an idea. According to Duchamp, a readymade entails ordinary produced items that artists select and modify. The idea of readymade was introduced to be an antidote to retinal art. 2
According to Duchamp, being restricted to a taste of art, as to whether art is good or bad, was an enemy of art. Therefore, the pioneer developed artworks that went against the concept of retinal art. Duchamp selected his pieces from products that were already produced, on the basis of visual indifference. 3 Duchamp’s selection was majorly guided by his sense of humor, irony, and ambiguity. The idea encompassed in the art comes first; the visual part of the art is not the most important. Through the submission of readymade arts to art juries, the public, and his patrons, Duchamp questioned the traditional notion of what is, and what is not art. 4 Although some of the readymades were rejected by art juries, with others going unnoticed in art shows, his attempt in questioning what art entails has been vital to the present-day concept of art. For instance, the In Advance of a Broken Arm , 1915 by Duchamp, which was a piece of art made from a shovel, had its replica mistaken for an ordinary snow shovel and used to remove snow from a sidewalk. The irony and ambiguity of the aforementioned piece of art guided its creation. Some of the common types of readymades include un-altered objects, assisted readymade, rectified readymade, corrected readymade, and reciprocal readymade.
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The concepts of readymades as presented by Duchamp, contributed to the Dada movement. Dada was an international art movement of the European avant-garde, that basically involved art manifestoes, theory, graphic design, literature, poetry, theatre, and visual arts. 5 The movement was started in Switzerland, in 1916, to protest against the physical site of painted, and its prized intuition, irrationality, and pure nonsense. Readymade contributed towards the movement through its denial of the principles of simplification and purification. Rather than originality, readymade promotes mass production. Furthermore, readymade promotes the commercial framework and the institutionalization of its recontextualization. 6 Unlike in retinal art, where an artist has to come up with original paint or literature, readymade facilitates the development of art from any commercially produced item. The Fountain is one of Duchamp’s prominent work that is associated with Dada. In the exhibition of 1917, where Duchamp was one of the members of the committee, the rules stated that all works that were submitted would be exhibited because if anyone was an artist, then anything can be an art. 7 Therefore, just like the motive behind the Dada movement, readymade arts promoted the incorporation of context and idea into artworks.
With readymade, anybody with a message can become an artist. According to Duchamp, everything is art if deemed and called so by an artist. Readymade encourages people to consider the presentation of the idea in itself as a work of art. 8 A Lady’s Not a Gent’s , which was created by Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, was meant to present a circumstantial as well as a factual evidence for reattribution of the urinal as a protest against the United States for entering into World War I against Germany. 9 According to this theory, art does not have any criterion of excellence; an item does not have to achieve a predetermined standard of quality for it to be considered as an artwork. Rather, art, according to the concept of readymades, is a creative act that is never fully determined by the artist but also relies on spectators’ participation. 10 Therefore, an artist only has to use a material that already produced, with his or her task being to interpret the item. Since readymade does not consider whether a piece of art has a positive or a negative aesthetic reaction, one does not have to be skilled in painting or developing literal content to be an artist. An artist only needs to select an object, eliminate the object’s familiar purpose by ignoring its functional role and presenting it as a work of art, and filling adding some captions that might trigger spectators to develop new thoughts and meaning. Once a person successfully presents an item in the context that befits his or her massage, and the message encompassed in the art can be understood, it can be considered to an artwork.
Readymade involves the audience of the artwork more as compared to retinal art. Ideally, an art project object or painting eventually becomes an everyday object. 11 Therefore, the relationship between the art objects and object is exceptionally fluid and yet vital in art presentation. Therefore, art should prompt focused engagement of the audience with various aspects of the art. The association between readymade and the audience is slightly different from the retinal art. Unlike retinal art, readymade is developed from products that members of the audience relate with on a daily basis. Therefore, the introduction of such manufactured items will trigger the audience to conceptualize the message entailed effectively as compared to retinal art.
Readymade recommends the incorporation of the meaning to art. According to the concept of readymade art, art lacks any usefulness beyond being a work of art. 12 It does not have any functional value, which makes people question the enormous valuation of these works of art. Therefore, there should be no strict definition of art, except for its ability to trigger the audience’s imagination and thinking. The Bottle Rack , which was created by Duchamp in 1914 is an example of that kind of art. Aside from being a galvanized iron bottle drying rack that is presented as a piece of art, it does not have any deeper meaning to it. 13 In some instances, retinal arts might focus too much on the visual aspect of the art and resultantly forget the message behind the work of art. 14 However, as for readymade art, the artist does not focus too much on developing a new physical object. Instead, an artist can easily pick a readymade piece and present it in a given context to convey a specific message. However, these presentations give the audience an opportunity to interpret the message conveyed in many different ways.
Readymade art is common in the present-day social media platform. Today, with the idea of readymade, anybody has the potential of becoming an artist. As a result, social media users are applying the concept of readymades in presenting various forms of art. Presentation, as an aspect of art, is evident in some of the primary social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. It is common to find users presenting works, such as quotes, poetic statements, and photos, among other things, which are not entirely original. L.H.O.O.Q , where Duchamp made a parody of Mona Lisa is a perfect example of how social media users take original works, edit them, and present them as their work. In L.H.O.O.Q , Duchamp adds a mustache and a small goatee beard to the Mona Lisa and presents his own. However, since these users have adopted a new presentation, it becomes a piece of art. 15 Besides, today, there are many technologies that can be used to edit original artworks, particularly photographs. Therefore, readymade, in the form of edited photos, dominate the social media platform. In addition, readymade art can also be seen when multiple photographs are compiled into one. As mentioned earlier, presentation on its own is considered to be a work of art. Thus, the development of photomontages through the combination of multiple photographs in the social media and art gallery is a common readymade art.
The introduction of readymade diversified art with the introduction of other aspects. Today, with the approval of readymade as a work of art, many other forms of art have surfaced. 16 Artists tend to be diverse in their practices as well as their form of production. Furthermore, the context in which these readymade arts are presented is also varied significantly. These, in addition to the extensive production of manufactured products, provides artists with a comprehensive option to select their arts from. With the diversified options available for artists, people have stopped relying on the historical pedagogy and the rigid definition of art. Instead, artists tend to embrace simple design and products that are applicable in everyday life. Provided the presentation can be presented in a manner that the spectators will try to understand, the work, irrespective of its aesthetic appeal, it can be considered to be a work of art.
In conclusion, the introduction of the concept of readymade has influenced how art is conceived by artists as well as the audience. The concept of readymade was first introduced by Marcel Duchamp in the 1900s. According to the pioneer, this brach of art incorporates ordinary manufactured items that artists select and modify. Before the revolution triggered by Duchamp, strict standards had been placed on what should be considered to be good or bad artwork. However, according to the concept developed by Duchamp, such a concept is an enemy of art. The introduction of readymade has various significance on both a personal and on a community level. Readymade contributed to the Dada revolution of Zurich, Switzerland. The movement, which was against retinal art shared multiple objectives that are evident in the readymade pieces of art. Aside from that, the concept of readymade has helped reduce the pressure placed on the achievement of visual excellence, but rather chooses the message and the context of communication. Other significances of readymades include the promotion of communication and contextual presentation. Moreover, readymades attract more customers who are more involved as compared to their counterparts. In addition, readymade art has diversified art through the incorporation of other forms of art. The number of options a person can pick from has increased. Furthermore, readymade has also encroached into social media platforms. Today, various aspects of readymade are evident in various, with people posting photos, quotes, and videos that are not their original works. Provided these individuals remain creative in their presentation, there are many options that can surface on social media easily.
Bibliography
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Demos, T. J. "Circulations: in and around Zurich Dada." October (2003): 147-158.
Daniels, Dieter. "THE SECOND HALF OF THE READYMADE CENTURY (1964–)." The Nordic Journal of Aesthetics 28, no. 57-58 (2019): 141-157.
Pettersson, Rune. "Marcel Duchamp, concept and context."
Scha, Remko. "Readymades, artificial art, new media." Exploding Aesthetics 16 (2001): 40-47.
Vella Rago, Manuel. "Marcel Duchamp, art and the ethical significance of a renewed relationship with the object." (2015).
1 Rune, Pettersson. "Marcel Duchamp, concept and context."
2 Ibid.
3 Rago Vella, Manuel. "Marcel Duchamp, art and the ethical signifi cance of a renewed relationship with the object." (2015).
4 Ibid.
5 Demos, T. J. "Circulations: in and around Zurich Dada." October (2003): 147-158.
6 Ibid., 149
7 Rune, Pettersson. "Marcel Duchamp, concept and context."
8 Rune, Pettersson. "Marcel Duchamp, concept and context."
9 Ibid, 7
10 Demos, T. J. "Circulations: in and around Zurich Dada." October (2003): 147-158.
11 "Aesthetica Magazine - Is The Readymade Still Revolutionary?". 2020. Aesthetica Magazine . https://aestheticamagazine.com/is-the-readymade-still-revolutionary/.
12 Dieter, Daniels. "THE SECOND HALF OF THE READYMADE CENTURY (1964–)." The Nordic Journal of Aesthetics 28, no. 57-58 (2019): 141-157.
13 Rune, Pettersson. "Marcel Duchamp, concept and context."
14 "Aesthetica Magazine - Is The Readymade Still Revolutionary?". 2020. Aesthetica Magazine . https://aestheticamagazine.com/is-the-readymade-still-revolutionary/.
15 Rune, Pettersson. "Marcel Duchamp, concept and context."
16 Scha, Remko. "Readymades, artificial art, new media." Exploding Aesthetics 16 (2001): 40-47.
