When you want to talk about controversial art meant to piss people off, look no further than Marcel Du champ’s 1917 “Fountain”. In the late 19th to early 20th century, the popular trend in France, particularly Paris, was salon art. Artists who thought there work fit enough to be displayed publicly went to a committee for review and selection. “Fountain” got accepted, and immediate caused an outrage. What offense it must have been, for the artist’s who spent months prepping and conceiving an idea and then following through only to be placed next to “Fountain” which was actually only an 18th century urinal turned upside down and signed R. Mutt.
We know what he was trying to do. This was the first time in history that someone was trying to push the boundaries of the question “what is art?” to the limit. He was also commenting on the rigidity of the institution of art for that time. Art has to be approved, thus he was saying in effect, screw this, art is what I want it to be. He was the beginning of what is allegedly “Modern Art” and the founder of Dadism. You know how he was a social critic? He pissed off everyone who thought art required formal skill and time. It was as if all their work was for naught.
He also used pun to be a social critic. R. Mutt, in addition to not being his signature, was actually intended to be “armut”, which is German for poverty. He wanted poverty to be associated with art as well and not just art only being available for viewing by the social elites at the time. He was making fun of social structure, and the fact that it got people angry, including me, means that it accomplished what it set out to do.
How do I feel when I look at this sculpture? I feel offended. I feel as though all the conservatory level visual arts training I received is meaningless. See if art can be defined so broadly, then it has no inherent meaning. If everything is art, nothing is art. I believe in some set of standards to live up to. That gives value to the meaning of skill. That’s what makes classical art beautiful. Each followed sequentially and ideas flowed around and were reciprocated. An famous artist once said, “In order to be a master you must eat a master”. Such thinking created competition in the art world. Then came the modern artists such as Marcel Duchamp, who said, I say art is anything I want it to be, and if you don’t agree then you don’t know art.
To that I say, yes you have the right to call it art, but I have the right to say it takes no skill and is an embarrassment.
