Marcel Duchamp Final Paper Bilbiography and Stuff

Working Bibliography:

Collings, Matthew. "The Art Story: Artist - Marcel Duchamp." The Art Story: Modern Art Movements, Artists, Ideas and Topics. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://www.theartstory.org/artist-duchamp-marcel.htm>.

Cros, Caroline. Marcel Duchamp. London: Reaktion, 2005. Print.

Duchamp, Marcel, and Paul Matisse. Marcel Duchamp, Notes. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983. Print.

Finigan, Jane. "The Mamas Take Their Place with the Dadas | The Art Newspaper." The Art Newspaper - Home. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Holton, Gerald. "Henri Poincare, Marcel Duchamp and Innovation in Science and Art." Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 127-34. Print.

Joselit, David. Infinite Regress: Marcel Duchamp 1910 - 1941. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: MIT, 1998. Print.

Naumann, Francis M., and Marcel Duchamp. Marcel Duchamp the Art of Making Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York: Abrams [u.a., 1999. Print.

Sanouillet, Michel, and Anne Sanouillet. Dada in Paris. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2009. Print.

Sawelson-Gorse, Naomi. "On the Hot Seat: Mike Wallace Interviews Marcel Duchamp." Art History 23.1 (2000): 35-55. Print.

Outline:

Thesis : Marcel Duchamp is an artist in and out of the traditional sense. Controversial pieces from his well known paintings to his ready-mades have broken down a boundary that existed in the art world up until that time. His works and philosophy challenge the preconceived definition of what it means to be an artist and what is art.

Body:

1. Marcel Duchamp's Life

   1. Child Hood

      1. Where he was born

      2. Early child hood influences

   2. Early Life

      1. Early life as an artist

         1. His influences

         2. His styles

   3. Late Life

      1. Later style of art and thinking

      2. Death

2. Marcel Duchamp's Thoughts and Philosophy

   1. Attitude towards art

      1. In his works

      2. In others works

   2. Philosophy towards what art is/should be

      1. His own notes

      2. As seen through his works

3. Marcel Duchamp's Works

   1. Styles

      1. Dada

         1. Man Ray

         2. Other Dada artists

            1. Similarities between Duchamp and those artists

      2. Cubism (Influence)

   2. “Nude Descending a Staircase”

      1. Influences

      2. Controversy

      3. His own thoughts on it

   3. “Fountain”

      1. Thoughts

      2. Controversy

   4. Other works

      1. Readymades

Conclusion:

Marcel Duchamp is an artist that everyone can draw inspiration from. If not within art then within life. His thinking and ideals are extraordinary in their practice and can apply to almost anything. It is because of this thinking that the art world is what it is today. His works took what it meant to be an artist at the time and turned it upside down. Through controversy and negativity, Duchamp has pushed through and has turned what it means to be an artist in today's society.

Summary:

Marcel Duchamp has led an interesting and influential life as an artist. From his beginnings to his later days, Duchamp's life should be a subject for study. Not so much for factual information in the sense of where was he born, where did he go to school, or anything of that sort. Rather, his life should be looked into to see where he drew his ideas and thought processes from. Influence is one of the most important elements of life in terms of development and growth. In the traditional sense but also within the artist sense as well. So it would be very important to look into those influences and draw insight from there.

From then on one would be able to see where Duchamp's thoughts and philosophy might stem from. His attitude has always seemed to be one of the acceptance of everything as art. His pieces always teetered on the edge of what is art and what is not art until that wall was finally broken down. For example, one of his most famous works, "Nude Descending a Stair Case", was thought to be abysmal and bleak. Horrid even at the time. It was something that people in those days would not call art. However, as time grew on the line in the sand began to become washed away. People began to accept Duchamp's vision and see "Nude..." as a piece of fine art.

The same incident happened with his piece "Fountain", a urinal on which he wrote R.Mutt. It was not accepted into the show that Duchamp had tried to get it entered into. Duchamp's ideals are evident in every single example and every single occurrence.

The style of art that these pieces came from, the Dada movement, carried on Duchamp's ideas perfectly. Other artists that were involved in Dada seemed to share much of the same philosophy of Duchamp. A spreading pattern of thinking. Man Ray most likely being the best example. Like Duchamp, his readymades and custom Ray o Graphs kept pushing the traditional definition of what it mean to be an artist right off the page.

Duchamp's works scream obscureness and also acceptance at the same time. At a time when "art" was so clearly cut in stone, Duchamp chiseled in his own meaning. "Nude..." and "Fountain" are among his most well known works because of this. Because they went on the other side of the fence. Because they show thinking outside of the box.