Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia, and Chess

February 20, 2009 In his article All Artists are Not Chess Players Allan Savage looks at the chess playing of Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and Francis Picabia.  All three were fascinated by the game and incorporated it into their artwork.  Man Ray blieived that a square grid, such as a chess board, was "the basis for all art… it helps you to understand the structure, to master a sense of order" and he incorporated chess imagery into much of his art.  Picabia was als.. read more...

Excerpt from The Posthuman Dada Guide: tzara and lenin play chess

February 20, 2009

"This is a guide for instructing posthumans in living a Dada life. It is not advisable, nor was it ever, to lead a Dada life. It is and it was always foolish and self-destructive to lead a Dada life because a Dada life will include by definition pranks, buffoonery, masking, deranged senses, intoxication, sabotage, taboo breaking, playing childish and/or dangerous games, waking up dead gods, and not taking education seriously."

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Reproductions from the MoMA’s collection at the Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street subway station

February 20, 2009 The MoMA is currently displaying large-scale reproductions of works from their collection, including Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel (1913), at the Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street subway station in Brooklyn.  The display, which is intended to increase awareness of the museum's collection, will last until March 15, 2009.    The display is accompanied by audio commentries on selected works, which can be accessed by calling 1-888-939-MoMA , as well as a website whic.. read more...

Chess and Art

February 20, 2009 In a blog post Jennifer Shahade, who annotated 15 chess games for the upcoming book Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess, argues against the idea that Duchamp "renounced art for chess".  Instead, she says, Duchamp's chess playing acutally contributed to his art.  He created works inspired by chess, from his early work The Chess Game (1910) The Large Glass (The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even) (1915-1923).   Shahade also argues that chess a.. read more...

Yves Saint Laurent Auction will Feature Work by Duchamp

February 20, 2009 An upcoming auction of art from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent will feature Duchamp's piece Belle Haleine - Eau de Voilette (1921). The piece, which is a perfume bottle with a photo of Duchamp dressed as a woman on it, is estimated to sell for 1 million Euros.  The auction was organized by Saint Laurent's longtime partner Pierre Bergé following Saint Laurent's death last year.  All proceeds from the auction will go to scientific and Aids research... read more...

Controversial Exhibition Features Work By Marcel Duchamp

February 9, 2009 Starting September 22, the Hamburger Banhof Museum in Berlin will present the collection of Friedrich Christian Flick, which includes work by Marcel Duchamp.  The exhibition has been critisized for its connection to Flick's grandfather "who made his fortune from the war arms industry during the Nazi regime using Jewish slave labourers".  Because of this, many within the Jewish community have protested against the exhibit.  However, the curator ".. read more...

The Marcel Duchamp I Married

February 6, 2009 In an excerpt from her memoir A Marriage in Check: The Heart of the Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelor, Even, Duchamp's wife Lydie Fischer Sarazin-Levassor tells about their relationship.  Although they initially  had a happy marriage, Sarazin-Levassor soon found herself excluded from Duchamp's life.  Duchamp essentially abandoned his wife, and altough she atttempted to put up a facade of a happy marriage, the two eventually divorced a year after marrying.&nbs.. read more...

Jerry Saltz’s Idol Thoughts

February 6, 2009 In his article Idol Thoughts, Jerry Saltz considers the commonly held view that Duchamp is"an 'anti-artist' and an 'iconoclast.'".  Saltz believes this view is "entirely false" and in fact Duchamp "wasn't against art at all; he was against the hypocritical aura surrounding it".  Instead of seeking to destroy art, Duchamp's work "is an incarnation of the invisible essence of art" that combines image and idea in a way that had n.. read more...

Man Ray: Unconcerned but not Indifferent at the Hague Museum of Photography

February 6, 2009 The Hague Museum of Photography exhibit Man Ray: Unconcerned but not Indifferent, which started on  January 24 and continues until April 19 2009, "is the first exhibition to reveal Man Ray's complete creative process".  It features more than 300 items, including photography, readymades, and paintings and "examines the four separate creative phases in Man Ray’s life...each [of which] is closely connected with the place where he was living (New Yo.. read more...