The Art World Is A Forever Changing System - 1614 Words

The art world is a forever changing system, with new ideas and concepts constantly emerging. Marcel Duchamp, working in a world where art was focused heavily on pleasing the eye, is seen to emerge with a new idea that aimed to challenge this ‘retinal’ approach that was expected of art during this time. Duchamp would call this new approach ‘the readymade’.†¨This essay will discuss how Duchamp used the readymade, specifically his 1913 piece Bicycle Wheel, to move away from the focus on the visual and shift attention to a focus on the conceptual. Likewise, this essay will explore how Duchamp’s readymade has influenced artists such as Jeff Koons, who similarly incorporated the conceptual focus of the readymade within his own 1981-87 readymade†¦show more content†¦Duchamp is seen to use the word ‘retinal’ as a means of critically referring to avant-garde painting, as it was apparent to him that the modern artist was becoming too immersed in a focus of pleasing the viewer on a visual level, that they had neglected to stimulate the mind. As stated by Duchamp himself, he â€Å"wanted to put painting again at the service of the mind†, and thus his creation of the readymade emerged. The readymade consisted of a simple, unaltered, everyday object(s) that was presented as a work of art. Through the creation of the readymade, Duchamp undermined these pre-determined aesthetic expectations of art as he started to exhibit his readymade pieces in high-art exhibitions. From this point onwards, Duchamp’s artistic approach was changed via his re-development of common, everyday items and through the means of choosing and repositioning an object, Duchamp was able to transform an everyday item into a work of art. Thus, the readymade can be seen to be driven by Duchamp’s interest in shifting attention away from the object itself, and instead refocusing this attention on the creative relationship that he recognised between the artist, the work, the world and the audience. Duchamp was strong in his belief that â€Å"The creative act is not performed by the artist alone. The spectator brings the work into contact with the external world through interpretation†. Duchamp’s