Monday, 4 April 2011
3:30-4:08
tate. (2008).TateShots Issue 6-Peter Blake. (online). Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU7oQ6lDaH0&feature=related. (Accessed March 29 2011).
Peter Blake (2008) declares “Marcel Duchamp made the statement that if an artist, whatever an artist does it is therefore art and to define that he once showed a toilet which is signed R.Mutt and exhibited it and because he exhibited it, it became art. So this is to thank him for making that statement which opened the door to so much art, so much conceptual art.”
Taken from a video about Peter Blake’s Tate exhibition, Blake thanks Marcel Duchamp for taking the step of questioning what art is and delving into the role of the spectator in art. I feel the Punk movement of the seventies would not have come about if it wasn’t for Marcel Duchamp’s readymade artworks and rebellious personality. Jamie Reid wouldn’t have put a safety pin through the Queen’s lip and the Sex Pistols wouldn’t have changed Rock ‘n’ Roll and fashion forever.
For my Convergence/Divergence Unit I am exploring the convergence of music, fashion and art. I am hosting an event in Southampton where I will display, create and observe all of the above. The venue will host an exhibition of my work which is all inspired to some extent by Marcel Duchamp’s readymades. I aim to create an environment and atmosphere with music and art. In this analysis I will explore the readymade, Dada and the Punk movement all of which have inspired me to put on this event.
Here is the event’s description as seen on the invite.
Village Green: Best of British is a celebration of British youth culture from the sixties until now.
This one-off night is a hats-off to the music that makes up the patchwork of Britain. From the soul adopted by the mods in the sixties to the punk movement that shook up the nation in the seventies. We'll pay homage to the best of Mod, Soul, Punk and Britpop.
Soul Cellar will be decked out with memorabilia and contemporary BritishPop Art.
Here is the event’s description as seen on the invite.
Village Green: Best of British is a celebration of British youth culture from the sixties until now.
This one-off night is a hats-off to the music that makes up the patchwork of Britain. From the soul adopted by the mods in the sixties to the punk movement that shook up the nation in the seventies. We'll pay homage to the best of Mod, Soul, Punk and Britpop.
Soul Cellar will be decked out with memorabilia and contemporary BritishPop Art.
In Apropos of 'Readymades' Duchamp (1961) explains:
“In 1913 I had the happy idea to fasten a bicycle wheel to a kitchen stool and watch it turn. A few months later I bought a cheap reproduction of a winter evening landscape, which I called "Pharmacy" after adding two small dots, one red and one yellow, in the horizon. In New York in 1915 I bought at a hardware store a snow shovel on which I wrote "In advance of the broken arm." It was around that time that the word "Readymade" came to my mind to designate this form of manifestation. A point that I want very much to establish is that the choice of these "Readymades" was never dictated by aesthetic delectation. The choice was based on a reaction of visualindifference with at the same time a total absence of good or bad taste ... in fact a complete anaesthesia. One important characteristic was the short sentence which I occasionally inscribed on the "Readymade." That sentence instead of describing the object like a title was meant to carry the mind of the spectator towards other regions more verbal. Sometimes I would add a graphic detail of presentation which, in order to satisfy my craving for alliterations, would be called "Readymade aided." At another time, wanting to expose the basic antinomy between art and "Readymades," I imagined a "Reciprocal Readymade": use a Rembrandt as an ironing board! I realized very soon the danger of repeating indiscriminately this form of expression and decided to limit the production of "Readymades" to a small number yearly. I was aware at that time, that for the spectator even more for the artist, art is a habit forming drug and I wanted to protect my "Readymades" against such a contamination. Another aspect of the "Readymade" is its lack of uniqueness... the replica of the "Readymade" delivering the same message, in fact nearly every one of the "Readymades" existing today is not an original in the conventional sense. A final remark to this egomaniac's discourse: Since the tubes of paint used by an artist are manufactured and readymade products we must conclude that all the paintings in the world are "Readymades aided" and also works of assemblage.”
“In 1913 I had the happy idea to fasten a bicycle wheel to a kitchen stool and watch it turn. A few months later I bought a cheap reproduction of a winter evening landscape, which I called "Pharmacy" after adding two small dots, one red and one yellow, in the horizon. In New York in 1915 I bought at a hardware store a snow shovel on which I wrote "In advance of the broken arm." It was around that time that the word "Readymade" came to my mind to designate this form of manifestation. A point that I want very much to establish is that the choice of these "Readymades" was never dictated by aesthetic delectation. The choice was based on a reaction of visualindifference with at the same time a total absence of good or bad taste ... in fact a complete anaesthesia. One important characteristic was the short sentence which I occasionally inscribed on the "Readymade." That sentence instead of describing the object like a title was meant to carry the mind of the spectator towards other regions more verbal. Sometimes I would add a graphic detail of presentation which, in order to satisfy my craving for alliterations, would be called "Readymade aided." At another time, wanting to expose the basic antinomy between art and "Readymades," I imagined a "Reciprocal Readymade": use a Rembrandt as an ironing board! I realized very soon the danger of repeating indiscriminately this form of expression and decided to limit the production of "Readymades" to a small number yearly. I was aware at that time, that for the spectator even more for the artist, art is a habit forming drug and I wanted to protect my "Readymades" against such a contamination. Another aspect of the "Readymade" is its lack of uniqueness... the replica of the "Readymade" delivering the same message, in fact nearly every one of the "Readymades" existing today is not an original in the conventional sense. A final remark to this egomaniac's discourse: Since the tubes of paint used by an artist are manufactured and readymade products we must conclude that all the paintings in the world are "Readymades aided" and also works of assemblage.”
For me this sums up the ethos of the readymade and Dada, taking everyday/mundane objects out of context makes them something else. For me I find beauty in seeing a piece of artwork in which certain components have lived a life before being displayed as art for example Duchamp’s urinal, it was his idea to take it out of context and therefore because he says it is art, it is and it is to be admired and ridiculed as any art is. What you are viewing is someone’s idea.
In the earlier video, Peter Blake speaks of Duchamp’s work with fondness because he opened the door for all conceptual art and asked the question, what is art ? Peter Blake uses found imagery and his own personal collections in his work, it is in the way they are appropriated that gives them significance. Each of the components that make up Blake’s work have personal meaning to him because he acquired all the materials and media whether it be oil paint or a toy car but it is the context they are put into and the viewer’s own interpretation of what they see that makes Peter Blake’s work so endearing and interactive.
Duchamp (1957) explains his view on the spectator’s role.
The spectator experiences the phenomenon of transmutation; through the change from inert matter into a work of art, an actual transubstantiation has taken place… …All in all, the creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work into contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.
The spectator experiences the phenomenon of transmutation; through the change from inert matter into a work of art, an actual transubstantiation has taken place… …All in all, the creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work into contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.
Nude Descending a Staircase (1912)
The career of Marcel Duchamp offers a rare instance of chaos theory as applied to the history of art. His concept of the ready-made work of art came out of the blue. It could not have been foreseen and was by no means inevitable. There were no precedents in art for the idea that by taking an ordinary object from the real world and placing it in an art gallery, the artist could completely change its meaning. By detaching art from aesthetics, Duchamp set it spinning on a different course from the one it had followed since the Renaissance - and thereby ensured that almost all significant art made in the US and continental Europe after his death in 1968 would, at some level, be touched by his ideas.
It is Duchamp, in Nude Descending a Staircase, who first uses mechanical imagery to represent the female body; Duchamp who first makes a transparent work of art; and Duchamp who begins to think outside the realms of the visual to make art with language.
As he worked on The Large Glass between 1912 and 1915, Duchamp gradually came to locate the essence of the art work in its appeal to the mind, not the eye. The ready-made was born when he realised that something can change its meaning without changing its form.
To me, it is still incredible that anyone, ever, made the leap of faith and imagination necessary to accept the original as a work of art. But, once you admit the possibility that it is more than a bit of plumbing, its title could easily refer not to the urinal itself but to the man urinating into it, and, if you start to imagine its open, curvaceous form as female, with the man standing unzipped in front of it - well, you can see where this is leading.
Dorment. R. (2008)
Dada
Duchamp’s fountain was his first association with Dada, which was an international movement among European artists and writers between 1915 and 1922, characterised by a spirit of anarchic revolt. Dada revelled in absurdity, and emphasised the role of the unpredictable in artistic creation.
It began in Zürich with the French poet Tristan Tzara thrusting a penknife into the pages of a dictionary to randomly find a name for the movement. This act in itself displays the importance of chance in Dada art. Irreverence was another key feature: in one of Dada's most notorious exhibitions, organised by Max Ernst, axes were provided for visitors to smash the works on show.
While perhaps seeming flippant on the surface, the Dada artists were actually fuelled by disillusionment and moral outrage at the unprecedented carnage of World War One, and the ultimate aim of the movement was to shock people out of complacency.
Artmovements (n.d)
It began in Zürich with the French poet Tristan Tzara thrusting a penknife into the pages of a dictionary to randomly find a name for the movement. This act in itself displays the importance of chance in Dada art. Irreverence was another key feature: in one of Dada's most notorious exhibitions, organised by Max Ernst, axes were provided for visitors to smash the works on show.
While perhaps seeming flippant on the surface, the Dada artists were actually fuelled by disillusionment and moral outrage at the unprecedented carnage of World War One, and the ultimate aim of the movement was to shock people out of complacency.
Artmovements (n.d)
After 60 years with seemingly no existence of Dada the Punk movement was started in London, the anti-establishment, anti-art ethos of Dada was mirrored when the Sex Pistols, supposedly created by his highness, egomaniac Malcolm McLaren, were violently shoved into the public eye. The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band from London and started in 1975, they had a stripped back, basic rock ‘n’ roll style and most of them could hardly play but that was the whole point. The artwork that accompanied the music, to me, was equally as revolutionary and important in the Sex Pistols effect on popular culture. Jamie Reid took the idea of Dada and ran with it creating some of the most iconic images in history. And so the Punk movement had begun.
Punk
Punk embraced the DIY ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings; they created vast hard-edged music with minimalistic instrumentation and political, anti-establishment lyrics. “Punk was based on a simple romantic ideal – that anyone could form a band and record their songs if everyone helped out. Cut-ups, cut-outs and collages dating from the time of the Suburban Press were turned into the striking artwork used on the covers of the Sex Pistols’ records” (Caroline Hennessy). The reflection of the music in the artwork packaging is an interesting area for analysis as so often the pre-mentioned traits of the music are translated into the artwork e.g. DIY, minimalistic. “The emphasis was not just to create new things but to re-cycle, cannibalise and use what was already there” (Open Democracy.net, article 563).
The swastika eyeballs design was first put forward for the “God Save The Queen” seven inch single and subsequently banned for obvious reasons - ‘there were a lot of swastikas used in early punk, maybe rather indiscriminately. I think the joke was overplayed, not so much about the Queen but her as a representative of the British establishment’ (Reid, Savage, 1987). The safety pin through the Queen’s lip instantly demotes her to being nothing less than a working class punk. This is incredibly effective, but done very simply. “When Jamie Reid took a Cecil Beaton silver jubilee portrait of the Queen and superimposed a safety pin through her bottom lip, he created one of the most iconic pop cultural images of the late 20th century; a simple visual statement that in terms of its universal familiarity, stands alongside Andy Warhol’s soup can and the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album cover”. (Nude magazine, Issue 4, 2004). I think the contrast of the rough, sketchy handwriting with the formal, upperclass Beaton photo is successful because again it removes the Queen from her royal stature. This is also reflected in the fact that the Sex Pistols feel they have the right to target the Queen in the song as if she’s just another individual who doesn’t deserve any more respect than the next person. This version of the poster is very reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp’s ready-made ‘Mona Lisa’ in which Duchamp drew a moustache and goatee on a reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting.
Here Malcolm Mclaren takes the idea of the ready made even further, claiming, much to the dismay of the Sex Pistols I’m sure, that they were his ready made, he created them and they were his masterpiece.
“Creating something called the Sex Pistols was my painting, my sculpture, my little artful dodgers.”
Malcolm McLaren
1:07-1:17
“Creating something called the Sex Pistols was my painting, my sculpture, my little artful dodgers.”
Malcolm McLaren
1:07-1:17
Fashion
Fashion will be a big part of my event. The mash up of styles from Skinheads, Punks and Mods is very interesting as they all have their own identity but they also cross over. I feel there is an element of the readymade within youth culture fashions. Some of the most iconic fashion items have become so important because of a change in context. For example the Fred Perry shirt was designed for playing tennis but the Mods started wearing it so that they could dance all night and still look good. This transformed into skinheads who also wore the Fred Perry polo shirt along with Doctor Marten boots. Over the last 50 years the Doc Marten boot has evolved from orthopaedic shoe to fashion essential and been a part of more cultural movements and revolutions than any other item of clothing. Starting out as a practical workman’s boot, it went on to be embraced by the misfits of society as a symbol of rebellion against the mainstream.
Ever since coming in contact with the idea of the ready made it has really stuck with me and in most of my work there is an element of it. Artists like Peter Blake, Joseph Cornell and Jamie Reid influence my work on a regular basis. I feel that to really understand an artist you have to discover their influences and Marcel Duchamp’s influence on the aforementioned artists is difficult to miss. To take the readymade further I feel it needs to come from different people and put into different places/contexts. It would be very easy to emulate Duchamp but I try to apply his ideas to my life which in itself makes it something different. For example in my exhibition I am showing a pair of scruffy Reebok Classics just as they are in a deep set box frame and sign my name next to them to make it blatantly obvious that I am showing it as a piece of art. My vision for it is that it confuses some people but others are intrigued by it. It will provoke different feelings in different people as British people will all have a personal relationship with the iconic shoes, good or bad.
The Reebok Classic
The Reebok Classic is an extremely popular brand-name shoe, especially in the UK with young people ("geezers" and "Chavs").
The Fly humorously states on his blog:
"Reebok Classics - You cannot claim any Geezer status without these, must be gleaming white, gold stripes are best down to yellow or orange which are considered a bit pikey by the Geezer hierarchy"
A comment on the Ryan's Bar (Stoke Newington, London) website refers to the Reebok Classic and the people who wear them in derogatory terms.
"craphole of a pub old stokey geezers stay upstairs with cheap elasticated jeans and cheap reebok classics" - Keirah [1]
British rapper Mike Skinner aka The Streets is a spokesperson for the Classics line, as he favours white Reebok Workout Plus trainers. [2] On his song "Let's Push Things Forward" one of his lyrics refers to the shoes:
"Let's put on our Classics and have a little dance, shall we?"
Arctic Monkeys also highlight the popularity of Reebok Classics amongst the common British 'chav' in the opening line to their song, "A Certain Romance":
"Well oh they might wear classic Reeboks, or knackered Converse, or trackie-bottoms tucked in socks."
Pete Doherty refers to Reebok Classics in the Babyshambles song, "Albion".
UK rappers The Mitchell Bros. argued that while Adidas Superstars and Nike Air Force 1s dominate the American hip-hop scene, Reebok Classic is the preferred brand of Brit-Hoppers for its "Britishness." Also in their video SoleMate they are driving around London in pimped out Reebok Classic-Mobiles.
Wikipedia. (2009). Reebok Classics.
The Fly humorously states on his blog:
"Reebok Classics - You cannot claim any Geezer status without these, must be gleaming white, gold stripes are best down to yellow or orange which are considered a bit pikey by the Geezer hierarchy"
A comment on the Ryan's Bar (Stoke Newington, London) website refers to the Reebok Classic and the people who wear them in derogatory terms.
"craphole of a pub old stokey geezers stay upstairs with cheap elasticated jeans and cheap reebok classics" - Keirah [1]
British rapper Mike Skinner aka The Streets is a spokesperson for the Classics line, as he favours white Reebok Workout Plus trainers. [2] On his song "Let's Push Things Forward" one of his lyrics refers to the shoes:
"Let's put on our Classics and have a little dance, shall we?"
Arctic Monkeys also highlight the popularity of Reebok Classics amongst the common British 'chav' in the opening line to their song, "A Certain Romance":
"Well oh they might wear classic Reeboks, or knackered Converse, or trackie-bottoms tucked in socks."
Pete Doherty refers to Reebok Classics in the Babyshambles song, "Albion".
UK rappers The Mitchell Bros. argued that while Adidas Superstars and Nike Air Force 1s dominate the American hip-hop scene, Reebok Classic is the preferred brand of Brit-Hoppers for its "Britishness." Also in their video SoleMate they are driving around London in pimped out Reebok Classic-Mobiles.
Wikipedia. (2009). Reebok Classics.
Marcel Duchamp’s massive influence on modern art is difficult to avoid. His influence on the punk movement is particularly important and inspirational to me. It has allowed me to express myself in my own practice and take the idea of a readymade piece of art further. Instead of asking the question, like Marcel Duchamp, what is art ? I feel we can now ask the question, what is a readymade ?
Is a painting a readymade because the paint is already there and when you choose to put on an item of clothing as fashion to display to others to say something about yourself, are you creating a readymade by putting them in a new context ? When a DJ plays a record is he creating a ready made, because he is the one being applauded for somebody else’s work ? I feel these have all evolved from Marcel Duchamp’s decision to exhibit a urinal and they are all readymade pieces of art.
Is a painting a readymade because the paint is already there and when you choose to put on an item of clothing as fashion to display to others to say something about yourself, are you creating a readymade by putting them in a new context ? When a DJ plays a record is he creating a ready made, because he is the one being applauded for somebody else’s work ? I feel these have all evolved from Marcel Duchamp’s decision to exhibit a urinal and they are all readymade pieces of art.
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