marcel duchamp

50cc of paris air - 1919

today is the 125th anniversary of duchamp's birth - 


suffice it to say that as much as i appreciate the aesthetics and execution of work, the philosophy/intention behind it is just as important to me...

duchamp challenged how people viewed and categorized art... 

around the age of 20 i found myself in the contemporary gallery at the philadelphia museum of art and it was there that duchamp turned my young world on its head... 

i was always open to contemporary painting and sculpture; but he was different, this was work i was thinking about long past leaving the building (which i love - did then, do so even more now)....

if you read a bit about duchamp and his readymades, you will see how he opened the door for mixed media and found object work... 

bicycle wheel

he worked within the styles of cubism, dada and surrealism as well... 

nude descending a staircase (no.2) - 1912