#r mutt

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917

Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz

by Ryan Clement OF COURSE, I don’t really know the answer to this age-old question, but my very good friends, F and M, may well have come very close to an – rather than ‘the’ – answer. WE WERE CELEBRATING A VICTORY in a recent court case. We were enjoying our meal in Wembley – they had kindly made the journey South for my sole convenience. We, sorry, I had elected for an Indian meal. Had I…

Tattoo is finally out of the itchy phase thank fuck

Line drawing of Marcel duchamps the fountain

Marcel Duchamp was born on this day in 1887. An artist who broke down the boundaries between works of art and everyday objects, he is perhaps best known for his irreverent “readymades.” One of the best (and most infamous) examples of a readymade is “Fountain.” Duchamp declared that the ordinary piece of plumbing had become art simply by signing it “R. Mutt 1917” and submitting it to the inaugural exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists—a concept almost as hotly debated today as it was then.

The professor theorizes that this is why Duchamp's "Fountain" (the urinal signed R. Mutt) came into being. Long-form revenge against those who had rejected his art, with a twist of humor and trickster-dom.

"The Independents rejected me? Well, let's see them reject THIS in their 'everyone is included' show. If everyone is included, then I will throw a wrench in their plans with this urinal signed by an unknown."