Fountain

After the presentation we had in class today, I wanted to address Marcel Duchamp's Fountain. Because the presentation was about Deric's work, and not what constitutes art or the history of art, I felt that this would be the better venue to discuss this piece of art work. This piece was talked about in sort of a negative context towards it being labeled art and more so being heralded as one of the greatest pieces of art for all time. Based on other reactions and comments both today and in the past, I feel that many of the other students have a similar negative viewpoint of this work. I will admit that I also used to despise Fountain. For an undergrad art history class a couple years ago, we had to write an "art bias" paper. We had to write about three artists that we liked and three we disliked, and then our reasoning for those selections. But, then we had to write about why someone might like the artist that we didn't like. I found that to be a very enlightening experience, because I really had to think about what was going on with the work and what really made in successful in a different person's eyes.

It just so happens that Fountain was one of the pieces I disliked. In fact, I believe I made a statement that this was the worst piece of art of all time. Fortunately, during the class and discussions, I learned the significance of this truly monumental piece of art history. A quick background, Duchamp submitted this sculpture into a non-juried exhibition that was for an artists' club or society. All work that was submitted was to be shown, the only piece that was rejected was this one. He was making a statement against work that was in the exhibition, but also on the grander scale of the whole art world. "What is art?" This question and action led to a sequence of events in art history that brings us to the present. Over the decades, nearly anything can be considered art and exist in the fine art realm in some form or another, including ceramics.

I feel that sometimes we as ceramic artists, take for granted the fact that we can make ceramic artwork or pottery that can be shown in galleries, while at the same time discounting work such as Fountain. The truth is, if that work was never made, we wouldn't have been in a classroom today as a group of ceramic artists working towards MFA degrees. Without those questions, I believe it would be impossible for anyone to gain any recognition as a studio potter. Anyone who needs a functional pot can easily purchase what is needed at Walmart, Target, or any of the many retail stores. But people began to appreciate other forms of art other than just painting and sculpture, because of the chain reaction that was set off by Fountain. This could arguably be the best piece of ceramic art ever, because without its existence, there might not be ceramic art.