Artist Research

Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp was born in Blainville, Normandy, and was the son of a notary and younger brother to the painter Jacques Villon, and cubist sculptor Raymond Duchamp-Villon, He studied at the Academie Julian from 1904 to 1905.

His earlier paintings were inspired by Matisse and Fauvism, and in 1911, he made his own brand of Cubism, in which he took earthy colours, mechanical and automatic forms, and a depiction of movement. He made his first 'Readymades' starting in 1913, most notably "Fountain", which he made in 1917.
He created 'Readymades' and 'Found objects' from industrial and natural objects, which he then elevated to artwork by adding an inscription or by including them in exhibitions. His idea was to question the notion of art and the accepted canon, and the adoration of art, which he found "unnecessary".

"Mile of String" - 1942

Duchamp's piece "Mile of String" was one of his later works, was an exhibition that wrapped around a gallery space from the exhibition "First papers of Surrealism" which encased and obscured every other artists' work within it.

It was designed by Duchamp and included the works of over thirty other artists, who's work was difficult to view and in some cases, almost completely obscured by the string. It was one of the most audacious pieces of the early 20th century.

The exhibition was the first to be created by a group of émigré Surrealists led by André Breton, and while Duchamp's piece created the "Succés de Scandale" that Breton and his artists had hoped for, he surpassed their expectations dramatically.
"Mile of String" intentionally made it very difficult to view the artwork, while at the same time a group of children that Duchamp had enlisted the help of were moving around the gallery space.
The group of children was led by Carroll Janis, the son of art collector Sidney Janis, and contained 6 boys, dressed in football, basketball and baseball attire while bouncing the balls between them, and 6 girls who were playing skipping games, jacks, and hopscotch. They were under strict directions from Duchamp to keep moving throughout the gallery and around the people viewing the art.

Tying the string in such a repetitive manner was tiresome, and by the time Duchamp had finished, he commented obliquely on the tiredness of Surrealism. Duchamp was generally understood to have been sympathetic to Surrealism, and broadly in tune with its preoccupations, although he was deeply skeptical of psychoanalysis and of the group protocols established by Breton.

What I like about this piece is that it forced people to interact if they wanted to see the artwork they had gone to see, and because it was also very unapologetic and ostentatious. It interests me because of its simplicity and because of how it gets people to interact more, and after creating a similar exhibition of sorts, I myself can appreciate how tiring tying the string and moving around a space filled with string is.