All About Fountain by Marcel Duchamp

Title of Artwork “Fountain”

Artwork by Marcel Duchamp

Year Created 1917

Summary of Fountain

Fountain, the most famous of the readymades, was submitted under the alias R. Mutt to the Society of Independent Artists in 1917. The initial R meant for Richard, which was French slang for “moneybags” and Mutt stood for JL Mott Ironworks, a New York-based business that made the porcelain urinal. After the piece was rejected by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the grounds that it was unethical, proponents of the work contested this allegation, claiming that when an object was chosen for exhibition by an artist, it was given new meaning.

Fountain broke into new territory by pushing the boundaries of what defines a work of art. What began as an elaborate hoax intended to mock American avant-garde art evolved into one of the most significant works of the twentieth century.

Information Citations

En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.