Changing the course of 20th-century art

When is a urinal no longer a urinal? WhenMarcel Duchamp(18871968) declared it to be art. The uproar that greeted the French artistsFountain(1917), a porcelain urinal installed in a gallery, sent shock waves through the art world establishment that reverberate right through to today.

Thisessential introduction distills all the daring and the scandal of Duchamps practiceinto one essential overview not only of a pioneering creative but also of a critical moment in Western culture. From his groundbreaking blend of abstraction, Cubism, and Futurism inNude Descending a Staircase(1912) to his forays into the now-iconicreadymadessuch asBicycle Wheel(1913) andBottle Rack(1914) we explore how Duchampconsistently challenged the notion of what art isand, in so doing, opened up a world of conceptual possibilities beyond the retinal experience.