Marcel Duchamp: A Game of Chess, A film by Jean-Marie Drot, 55 min.

This French film includes original footage of interviews filmed consequent to Duchamp’s first major retrospective exhibition in 1963 at the Pasedena Art Museum. The film includes voice-overs in English, as well as original black and white footage interspersed with color reproductions of artworks. It includes a custom soundtrack by the French composer Edgar Varèse. The program follows Duchamp’s work somewhat chrologically, and delves into his motivations for conceptual art. We learn more about his biography and experiences and their consequent radical influences on his art.

The latest interview with Jean-Marie Drot takes place during a chess game, five years before Duchamp’s death. His thoughts on chess expressed in this interview can be further studied in the current traveling Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess.