Customer Reviews

Marcel Duchamp

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the most enjoyable art books I ever encountered. The writings of Duchamp are delightful, surprisingly so, considering the seemingly complex work. Filled all the gaps and questions I had about this remarkable important, but underrepresented artist.

The book "Marcel Duchamp" does a very good job of covering the highlights of the career of one of the most influential modern artists of the twentieth century. What would the art world be like without Duchamp's "Fountain," that urinal he signed, suggesting it was then a work of art - not necessarily good art, but art of some sort? Anyway, the book's narrative is intellectually dense, which is good for some folks, but I like prose that is little more relaxed, witty and magazine-like, though it reads a lot like what one would find within the pages of say,"ARTnews." Nevertheless, this is no dry text book. There's plenty of engaging prose to wet the brushes of art enthusiasts, particularly those interested in the early decades of the 1900s, when modern artists were trying to establish the boundaries of Futurism, Cubism, Surrealism and any other art movement coming to pass. Be that as it may, there's very little about Duchamp's personal life in this book, but that's what biographies are for. "Marcel Duchamp" (Couldn't they think of a more imaginative title?) is definitely a good art book but certainly not a great one.