Marcel Duchamp
Pioneering avant-garde artist known for 'Readymades' and challenging art's definition.
Chronology: 1887-07-28 – 1968-10-02
Origins & Early Life
Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French-American artist, chess player, and inventor who played a key role in the development of the avant-garde in the United States and in New York City, where he spent the last 25 years of his life. Duchamp is notable for his work of anti-art Fountain, where he signed the name "R. Mutt 1917" on a urinal. For his talk at the American Federation of the Arts in Houston, "On the Creative Act", for which he labeled himself a 'mere artist', Duchamp said, "Let us consider two important factors, the two poles of the creation of art: the artist, on the one hand, and on the other the spectator who later becomes the posterity...if we give the attributes of a medium to the artist, we must then deny him the state of consciousness on the esthetic plane about what he is doing or why he is doing it.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
All his decisions in the artistic execution of the work rest with pure intuition and cannot be translated into a self-analysis, spoken or written, or even thought out." Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, as one of the three artists who helped to establish the post-industrial perspective in art history...
Enduring Legacy & Impact
The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.
Source: Wikipedia