“Artists who innovate and challenge existing conventions have an effect on the art world as profound as an earthquake – they change the shape of the art landscape”
Evaluate this statement with reference to a range of artists and their works
Over the centuries, art making has been shaped, developed and transformed. What used to be a means of realistic documentation has now become an intellectual and conceptual reflection of the world. Marcel Duchamp had an immense effect on the art landscape through his unconventional use of media, the recontextualisation of found objects and the introduction of the ‘anti-aesthetic’. Similarly, Robert Rauschenberg has challenged traditional art conventions through the exploration of ‘combines’ and the notion of an artist as a creator of ideas. Ai Weiwei commonly uses ready-mades in his practice in order to communicate a social and cultural commentary to the audience. He has innovatively used art as his voice and reflection on the world. Through the introduction of ready-made materials and the focus on conceptual rather than aesthetic, the horizon of the art world has been forever broadened.
In 1917, a white, glossy, porcelain piece of plumbing signed R.Mutt, lay on its side, awaiting judgement by the Society of Independent Artists. The board disregarded the submission, saying that a sanitary item used for bodily waste is not art. Marcel Duchamp anonymously challenged this idea through an article published in The Blind Man, saying, “Whether Mr Mutt with his own hands made the fountain has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view – created a new thought for that object.” Through this statement, Duchamp questioned the definition of art and whether the importance lies with the material composition or the conceptual and creative process. Additionally, he raised the idea of recontextualisation and how removing an object (such as a urinal) from its context, creates an entirely new meaning. In the words of French artist Jean Arp, Duchamp’s art aimed “to destroy the hoaxes of reason and to discover an unreasoned order”. In time, art critics have come to discuss the beauty of the curvature and the shiny surface, but blatantly, ‘Fountain’ is a urinal and it is in not the ‘beauty’ of the artwork that made it the most influential modern artwork of all time, but rather the way in which it triggered the concept of the ‘readymade’ which led to a significant change in the art landscape.
Duchamp was part of the Dada movement – a movement where artists protested and rebelled against the traditional conventions of society. Dadaists considered the aesthetic of an artwork to be secondary to the ideas conveyed. ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’ reflects the dynamic and innovative nature of the Dada movement. It mocked traditional conventions of the cubist movement whilst simultaneously holding similar characteristics. The painting is a deconstruction, fragmentation and abstraction of the human form. In 1912, when the artwork was created, this was considered a foreign concept. Duchamp challenged the traditions of cubism by portraying the subject from one viewpoint at multiple moments rather than from multiple viewpoints at one moment. Additionally, Duchamp created ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’ as a way of challenging preconceived conceptions of art being something beautiful and realistic, created only by technically talented artists. In this way, Duchamp had a profound effect on the art landscape by challenging ‘retinal art’ (art that appeals to the mind only) and transforming it into ‘conceptual art’ (art which would engage the mind).
Robert Rauschenberg, who is considered one of the most influential artists of the late 21st century due to his invention of the ‘combine’, was highly influenced by the works of Duchamp. He expanded on Duchamp’s concept of the ‘ready-mades’ by combining traditional forms of art media to create deliberate frustration within society. ‘Bed’ was one of Rauschenberg’s first combines, created in 1955. This artwork is comprised of bed linens covered in scribbled drawings and dripped paint, stretched over an area of wood, creating the illusion of a bed. It demonstrates his interest in the interaction between life and art through the assemblage of traditional media such as oil paint and everyday objects such as bed linens. It merged aspects of painting and sculpture into one artwork to form a ‘combine’. Through this ‘combine’, Rauschenberg has removed everyday objects from the real world and transformed them into an artwork, changing their theoretical mode by shifting their context. In this way, Rauschenberg transformed the world of art by introducing the concept of the ‘combine’, which seemingly sparked the postmodern movement.
Similar to Duchamp, Rauschenberg explored the limits and definition of art and the notion that an artist is a creator of ideas. Rauschenberg refused to cement any definite meaning into his work and rather allowed the audience to interpret it in their own way. For example, ‘Monogram’, 1955, is one of Rauschenberg’s most famous artworks. It features a canvas collaged with wood, images, a tennis ball and other found materials, which lie beneath a stuffed goat with a tyre around its head. The snout of the goat is covered in paint. Whilst some critics interpret the goat to be representative of Rauschenberg’s sexuality, others interpreted it as a symbol of Rauschenberg’s role within the art world – crushing tradition. Whichever way it is interpreted, the artwork engages the audience on an intellectual level and removes the aesthetic appeal. By forcing the audience to create their own interpretations, Rauschenberg has changed the way in which art is viewed in modern society.
Similarly, Ai Weiwei expanded on Duchamp’s concept of the ready-made in his art practice. However, instead of recontextualizing an object, he removes its commercial value in order to create a social commentary. For example, ‘Coca Cola Vase’ is a Han dynasty ceramic urn, approximately 2,000 years old, which has been covered in a painted coca cola logo. The urn is traditionally from the Neolithic Age and, for this reason, carries high anthropological significance and value. Ai has transformed the valuable artifact and stripped it of its preciousness by painting it. In this way, he is commenting on the mass production of objects in our industrial society, which has decreased the value of traditional crafts. Similar to Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’, ‘Coca Cola Vase’ makes the audience question the rules of art. Ai has destroyed an aspect of ancient culture, which results in the audience questioning what is valued in our society. More simply, the artwork reflects the constant conflict between the preservation of ancient culture and the progression of modern society. ‘Coca Cola Vase’ demonstrates the immense effect that Duchamp’s ready-mades have had on other artist’s. Ai has employed a unique interpretation of the ready-made and has innovatively challenged the conventions of art making by using precious ready-mades as a voice through which he comments on his world.
In an exhibition at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, Ai Weiwei has covered the floor in a thick layer of over 100,000,000 sunflower seeds. In the past, many would have questioned how this could be considered to be art. However in modern society, ‘Sunflower Seeds’ embodies multiple meanings. The seeds, which took two and a half years to individually hand paint, create a disturbing comment on the commercial branding ‘Made In China’ and simultaneously, the effects of the cultural revolution. The idea that distinguishes this artwork from the work of traditional artists is its of interaction with the audience. The audience are able to pick up or walk over the sunflower seeds in order to create a connection with the artwork and the world. Each sunflower seed is symbolic of items that have been painstakingly created by women and often children in small Chinese communities and then labelled ‘Made in China’ and mass-produced. As a result, the preciousness of the items are unrecognised in Western culture as mass production strips them of their value. In this way, the audience is immediately confronted with the reality of the artwork. Additionally, Ai uses the ready-mades as a means of dialogue – to communicate a subtle message regarding the experience of hardship faced by many during the Cultural Revolution. Through the use of an everyday object, Ai comments on the hunger experienced by men, women and children during the Cultural Revolution, who lived on a staple diet. In this way Ai Weiwei has used ready-mades in order to transform art into a contemplative experience rather than merely an aesthetic one.
Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg and Ai Weiwei have all explored the concept of the ready-made albeit each artist has adopted a unique technique. In ‘Fountain’ and ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’, Duchamp destroyed traditional art conventions and raised the idea of the ‘anti-aesthetic’. Rauschenberg is an innovator who created the ‘combine’. His artworks ‘Bed’ and ‘Monogram’ explored the recontextualisation of objects and challenged the conventions of art making. Similarly, ready-made materials played a large role in Ai’s practice as they allowed him to communicate his ideas regarding his society. Through the use of unconventional media, these artists have focused on conceptual communication and intellectual interaction with the audience rather than focusing on technical and aesthetic appeal. In this way, they have “challenged existing conventions” of art making and thus “changed the shape of the art landscape”
Evaluate this statement with reference to a range of artists and their works
Over the centuries, art making has been shaped, developed and transformed. What used to be a means of realistic documentation has now become an intellectual and conceptual reflection of the world. Marcel Duchamp had an immense effect on the art landscape through his unconventional use of media, the recontextualisation of found objects and the introduction of the ‘anti-aesthetic’. Similarly, Robert Rauschenberg has challenged traditional art conventions through the exploration of ‘combines’ and the notion of an artist as a creator of ideas. Ai Weiwei commonly uses ready-mades in his practice in order to communicate a social and cultural commentary to the audience. He has innovatively used art as his voice and reflection on the world. Through the introduction of ready-made materials and the focus on conceptual rather than aesthetic, the horizon of the art world has been forever broadened.
In 1917, a white, glossy, porcelain piece of plumbing signed R.Mutt, lay on its side, awaiting judgement by the Society of Independent Artists. The board disregarded the submission, saying that a sanitary item used for bodily waste is not art. Marcel Duchamp anonymously challenged this idea through an article published in The Blind Man, saying, “Whether Mr Mutt with his own hands made the fountain has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view – created a new thought for that object.” Through this statement, Duchamp questioned the definition of art and whether the importance lies with the material composition or the conceptual and creative process. Additionally, he raised the idea of recontextualisation and how removing an object (such as a urinal) from its context, creates an entirely new meaning. In the words of French artist Jean Arp, Duchamp’s art aimed “to destroy the hoaxes of reason and to discover an unreasoned order”. In time, art critics have come to discuss the beauty of the curvature and the shiny surface, but blatantly, ‘Fountain’ is a urinal and it is in not the ‘beauty’ of the artwork that made it the most influential modern artwork of all time, but rather the way in which it triggered the concept of the ‘readymade’ which led to a significant change in the art landscape.
Duchamp was part of the Dada movement – a movement where artists protested and rebelled against the traditional conventions of society. Dadaists considered the aesthetic of an artwork to be secondary to the ideas conveyed. ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’ reflects the dynamic and innovative nature of the Dada movement. It mocked traditional conventions of the cubist movement whilst simultaneously holding similar characteristics. The painting is a deconstruction, fragmentation and abstraction of the human form. In 1912, when the artwork was created, this was considered a foreign concept. Duchamp challenged the traditions of cubism by portraying the subject from one viewpoint at multiple moments rather than from multiple viewpoints at one moment. Additionally, Duchamp created ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’ as a way of challenging preconceived conceptions of art being something beautiful and realistic, created only by technically talented artists. In this way, Duchamp had a profound effect on the art landscape by challenging ‘retinal art’ (art that appeals to the mind only) and transforming it into ‘conceptual art’ (art which would engage the mind).
Robert Rauschenberg, who is considered one of the most influential artists of the late 21st century due to his invention of the ‘combine’, was highly influenced by the works of Duchamp. He expanded on Duchamp’s concept of the ‘ready-mades’ by combining traditional forms of art media to create deliberate frustration within society. ‘Bed’ was one of Rauschenberg’s first combines, created in 1955. This artwork is comprised of bed linens covered in scribbled drawings and dripped paint, stretched over an area of wood, creating the illusion of a bed. It demonstrates his interest in the interaction between life and art through the assemblage of traditional media such as oil paint and everyday objects such as bed linens. It merged aspects of painting and sculpture into one artwork to form a ‘combine’. Through this ‘combine’, Rauschenberg has removed everyday objects from the real world and transformed them into an artwork, changing their theoretical mode by shifting their context. In this way, Rauschenberg transformed the world of art by introducing the concept of the ‘combine’, which seemingly sparked the postmodern movement.
Similar to Duchamp, Rauschenberg explored the limits and definition of art and the notion that an artist is a creator of ideas. Rauschenberg refused to cement any definite meaning into his work and rather allowed the audience to interpret it in their own way. For example, ‘Monogram’, 1955, is one of Rauschenberg’s most famous artworks. It features a canvas collaged with wood, images, a tennis ball and other found materials, which lie beneath a stuffed goat with a tyre around its head. The snout of the goat is covered in paint. Whilst some critics interpret the goat to be representative of Rauschenberg’s sexuality, others interpreted it as a symbol of Rauschenberg’s role within the art world – crushing tradition. Whichever way it is interpreted, the artwork engages the audience on an intellectual level and removes the aesthetic appeal. By forcing the audience to create their own interpretations, Rauschenberg has changed the way in which art is viewed in modern society.
Similarly, Ai Weiwei expanded on Duchamp’s concept of the ready-made in his art practice. However, instead of recontextualizing an object, he removes its commercial value in order to create a social commentary. For example, ‘Coca Cola Vase’ is a Han dynasty ceramic urn, approximately 2,000 years old, which has been covered in a painted coca cola logo. The urn is traditionally from the Neolithic Age and, for this reason, carries high anthropological significance and value. Ai has transformed the valuable artifact and stripped it of its preciousness by painting it. In this way, he is commenting on the mass production of objects in our industrial society, which has decreased the value of traditional crafts. Similar to Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’, ‘Coca Cola Vase’ makes the audience question the rules of art. Ai has destroyed an aspect of ancient culture, which results in the audience questioning what is valued in our society. More simply, the artwork reflects the constant conflict between the preservation of ancient culture and the progression of modern society. ‘Coca Cola Vase’ demonstrates the immense effect that Duchamp’s ready-mades have had on other artist’s. Ai has employed a unique interpretation of the ready-made and has innovatively challenged the conventions of art making by using precious ready-mades as a voice through which he comments on his world.
In an exhibition at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, Ai Weiwei has covered the floor in a thick layer of over 100,000,000 sunflower seeds. In the past, many would have questioned how this could be considered to be art. However in modern society, ‘Sunflower Seeds’ embodies multiple meanings. The seeds, which took two and a half years to individually hand paint, create a disturbing comment on the commercial branding ‘Made In China’ and simultaneously, the effects of the cultural revolution. The idea that distinguishes this artwork from the work of traditional artists is its of interaction with the audience. The audience are able to pick up or walk over the sunflower seeds in order to create a connection with the artwork and the world. Each sunflower seed is symbolic of items that have been painstakingly created by women and often children in small Chinese communities and then labelled ‘Made in China’ and mass-produced. As a result, the preciousness of the items are unrecognised in Western culture as mass production strips them of their value. In this way, the audience is immediately confronted with the reality of the artwork. Additionally, Ai uses the ready-mades as a means of dialogue – to communicate a subtle message regarding the experience of hardship faced by many during the Cultural Revolution. Through the use of an everyday object, Ai comments on the hunger experienced by men, women and children during the Cultural Revolution, who lived on a staple diet. In this way Ai Weiwei has used ready-mades in order to transform art into a contemplative experience rather than merely an aesthetic one.
Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg and Ai Weiwei have all explored the concept of the ready-made albeit each artist has adopted a unique technique. In ‘Fountain’ and ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’, Duchamp destroyed traditional art conventions and raised the idea of the ‘anti-aesthetic’. Rauschenberg is an innovator who created the ‘combine’. His artworks ‘Bed’ and ‘Monogram’ explored the recontextualisation of objects and challenged the conventions of art making. Similarly, ready-made materials played a large role in Ai’s practice as they allowed him to communicate his ideas regarding his society. Through the use of unconventional media, these artists have focused on conceptual communication and intellectual interaction with the audience rather than focusing on technical and aesthetic appeal. In this way, they have “challenged existing conventions” of art making and thus “changed the shape of the art landscape”