Marcel Duchamp

After reading about Duchamp from the reader I have to say I learned a lot about his work and his life. Personally, I don't care for any of his work. I can however, appreciate it after learning the ideas behind it. Duchamp was a man who was frustrated and disgusted by the cheapening of the art scene. He saw artists as selling out to achieve mass appeal to create the most sales. Duchamp wanted to express his emotions and critique art in a way that would be very powerful so he took to creating it. First he was into cubism and painting. Then later and much to my interest he introduced the ready mades. I was surprised to learn that the first ready made exhibition that Duchamp did was at the Pasadena Museum of Art. This museum is 20 minutes away from my house, and I have visited it a few times. It is interesting that the ready made work would be hosted in such an area because Pasadena is notorious for being the home to "old money" and republican stuffy people. This probably made the exhibition all the more controversial. It is so amusing to think of it because even now an exhibit like that would be looked upon strangely by the Pasadena natives. It is kind of out of place because that museum is very modern and so I can understand why they would host an exhibit like that. I learned that Duchamp was a man who was highly critical of the art scene itself and expressed this in an interesting way. His work has a very unique idea behind it and he wanted it to engage his viewers in a meaningful way.