Who Gets to Choose What Is and Isn't Art?

What is Art Anyway?

Fountain, 1917.

Duchamp's Readymade.

The artwork (if you could call it that) consists of a porcelain urinal marked with a signature which reads "R. Mutt 1917". It was presented in the Society of Independent Artists where the artists have to pay a certain fee in order to have their artwork exhibited. The piece was put together and submitted by Marcel Duchamp, a French American artist, as an act of rebellion against the expectation of aesthetic conventionality by high society.

This piece is assimilated with the artistic movement of the 20th century known as "Dadaism", a movement which emerged as a pessimistic response to the First World War and the futility of social norms during such a chaotic and uncertain time.

How Refreshing!

I remember learning about this piece in middle school during an art class and how much it struck a cord. I remember asking questions about the piece to the teacher and not being satisfied with the answers. Why would someone present a urinal of all things? What is the message behind this piece? Is it a reference to something I did not know about yet? Was I too uneducated or too young to actually understand this installation? In a way, yes. But thankfully I have the opportunity to think about this "fountain" again.

 

A common reaction to such an installation would be anger, and maybe in some case, amusement. The clash between the vulgarity of the item, a urinal, and the context in which it was being exhibited, a serious and innovative artistic association located in New York City, often considered the heart of the art scene in the United States, may lead to some negative reactions towards Duchamp's work. And this may be the point.

Dadaism and Redefining Art Itself. 

Dadaism, as I've previously mentioned, was an artistic movement that aimed to challenge the conventional standards of art. Duchamp's choice to submit a urinal is a clear intentional decision to make light of this conventionality and the elitist approach to art. The piece is supposed to come off as ridiculous, amusing or mocking, and Duchamp succeeded in this task! Indeed, despite the fact that the Society of Independent Artists was not allowed to refuse an artwork for its "unconventional" beauty, nor was there a jury, the members of the committee still voted in favor of forbidding the exhibition of this piece due to a lack of craftsmanship and due to the vulgar nature of the item. Duchamp managed to prove the absurdity of the rules within the art community with this single item.

 

Furthermore, after the feeling of anger or amusement eventually wears off, the artwork questions the notion of what makes an art piece "real" art. One might not think of Fountain as a valid piece of art due to its manufacturing, its lack of aesthetic interest and its intentionally vulgar message, but at the end of the day, the piece managed to make its audience feel, react and even question their views on art as a whole.