Wikipedia

Found object

"Readymade" redirects here. For other uses, seeReadymade (disambiguation).

Afound object(acalquefrom the Frenchobjet trouvé), orfound art,[1][2][3]isartcreated from undisguised, but often modified, items orproductsthat are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already have a non-art function.[4]Pablo Picassofirst publicly utilized the idea when he pasted a printed image of chair caning onto his painting titledStill Life with Chair Caning(1912).Marcel Duchampis thought to have perfected the concept several years later whenhe made a seriesofreadymades,consisting of completely unaltered everyday objects selected by Duchamp and designated as art.[5]The most famous example isFountain(1917), a standard urinal purchased from a hardware store and displayed on a pedestal, resting on its back. In its strictest sense the term "readymade" is applied exclusively to works produced by Marcel Duchamp,[6]who borrowed the term from theclothing industry(French:prêt-à-porter,lit. 'ready-to-wear') while living in New York, and especially to works dating from 1913 to 1921.

Marcel Duchamp,Fountain,1917; photograph byAlfred Stieglitz

Found objects derive their identity as art from the designation placed upon them by the artist and from the social history that comes with the object. This may be indicated by either its anonymous wear and tear (as in collages ofKurt Schwitters) or by its recognizability as a consumer icon (as in the sculptures ofHaim Steinbach). The context into which it is placed is also a highly relevant factor. The idea of dignifying commonplace objects in this way was originally a shocking challenge to the accepted distinction between what was consideredartas opposed tonot art.Although it may now be accepted in the art world as a viable practice, it continues to arouse questioning, as with theTate Gallery'sTurner Prizeexhibition ofTracey Emin'sMy Bed,which consisted literally of a transposition of her unmade and disheveled bed, surrounded by shed clothing and other bedroom detritus, directly from her bedroom to the Tate. In this sense the artist gives the audience time and a stage to contemplate an object. As such, found objects can prompt philosophical reflection in the observer ranging from disgust to indifference to nostalgia to empathy.

As an art form, found objects tend to include the artist's output—at the very least an idea about it, i.e. the artist's designation of the object as art—which is nearly always reinforced with a title. There is usually some degree of modification of the found object, although not always to the extent that it cannot be recognized, as is the case with readymades. Recent critical theory, however, would argue that the mere designation and relocation of any object, readymades included, constitutes a modification of the object because it changes our perception of its utility, its lifespan, or its status.

History

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Antecedents

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See also:Manuport
Alphonse Allais,Des souteneurs encore dans la force de l'âge et le ventre dans l'herbe boivent de l'absinthe,carriage curtain, before 1897.

One curator considers East Asianscholar's rocksto be early examples of found objects. Found and collected in natural settings, the rocks are changed only minimally for display, seldom beyond the addition of a display stand, and are meant to be contemplated as idealized representations of nature. Geological processes, chief among themerosion,give the rocks their distinctive qualities, rather than any modification by an artist or artisan.[7]

In 2017–2018, the French expertJohann Naldi[fr]found and identified seventeen unpublished works in a private collection, classified as a national treasure on May 7, 2021, by the French Ministry of Culture,[8]includingDes souteneurs encore dans la force de l'âge et le ventre dans l'herbeby Alphonse Allais,consisting of a green carriage curtain suspended from a wooden cylinder.[9]This work was certainly exhibited at theIncoherentsexhibitions in Paris between 1883 and 1893. According to Johann Naldi, this work is the oldest known readymade and was a source of inspiration for Marcel Duchamp.[10]

Duchamp's "readymades"

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Main article:Readymades of Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchampcoined the termreadymadein 1915 to describe a common object that had been selected and not materially altered in any way. Duchamp assembledBicycle Wheelin 1913 by attaching a common front wheel and fork to the seat of a common stool. This was not long after hisNude Descending a Staircasewas attracting the attention of critics at theInternational Exhibition of Modern Art.In 1917,Fountain,a urinal signed with the pseudonym "R. Mutt", and generally attributed to Duchamp, confounded the art world. In the same year, Duchamp indicated in a letter to his sister, Suzanne Duchamp, that a female friend was centrally involved in the conception of this work. As he writes: "One of my female friends who had adopted the pseudonym Richard Mutt sent me a porcelain urinal as a sculpture."[11]Irene Gammelargues that the piece is more in line with the scatological aesthetics of Duchamp's friend, theBaroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven,than Duchamp's.[12]The other possible, and more probable, "female friend" isLouise Norton(later Varèse), who contributed an essay toThe Blind MandiscussingFountain.[13]Norton, who recently had separated from her husband, was living at the time in an apartment owned by her parents at 110 West 88th Street in New York City, and this address is partially discernible (along with "Richard Mutt" ) on the paper entry ticket attached to the object, as seen in Stieglitz's photograph.[14]

Research byRhonda Roland Shearerindicates that Duchamp may have fabricated his found objects. Exhaustive research of mundane items like snow shovels and bottle racks in use at the time failed to reveal identical matches. The urinal, upon close inspection, is non-functional. However, there are accounts ofWalter ArensbergandJoseph Stellabeing with Duchamp when he purchased the originalFountainat J. L. Mott Iron Works.[15]

Later development

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An Oak TreebyMichael Craig-Martin;1973

The use of found objects was quickly taken up by theDadamovement, being used byMan RayandFrancis Picabiawho combined it with traditional art by sticking combs onto a painting to represent hair.[16]A well-known work by Man Ray isGift(1921), which is an iron with nails sticking out from its flat underside, thus rendering it useless.[17]Jose de Creeftbegan making large-scale assemblages inParis,such asPicador(1925), made of scrap metal, rubber and other materials.[citation needed]

The combination of several found objects is a type of readymade sometimes known as anassemblage.Another such example is Marcel Duchamp'sWhy Not Sneeze, Rose Sélavy?,consisting of a small birdcage containing a thermometer, cuttlebone, and 151 marble cubes resemblingsugar cubes.

By the time of the Surrealist Exhibition of Objects in 1936 a whole range of sub-classifications had been devised—including found objects, ready-made objects, perturbed objects, mathematical objects, natural objects, interpreted natural objects, incorporated natural objects, Oceanic objects, American objects and Surrealist objects. At this time Surrealist leader,André Breton,defined readymades as "manufactured objects raised to the dignity of works of art through the choice of the artist".

In the 1960s found objects were present in both theFluxusmovement and inpop art.Joseph Beuysexhibited modified found objects, such as rocks with a hole in them stuffed with fur and fat, a van with sledges trailing behind it, and a rusty girder.

In 1973,Michael Craig-Martinclaimed of his workAn Oak Tree,"It's not a symbol. I have changed the physical substance of the glass of water into that of an oak tree. I didn't change its appearance. The actual oak tree is physically present, but in the form of a glass of water."[18]

Other types of found objects

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Commodity sculpture

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In the 1980s, a variation of found objects emerged calledcommodity sculpturewhere commercially mass-produced items would be arranged in the art gallery as sculpture. The focus of this variety of sculpture was on the marketing, display of products. These artists includedJeff Koons,Haim Steinbach,andAshley Bickerton(who later moved on to do other kinds of work).

One ofJeff Koons' early signature works wasTwo Ball 50/50 Tank,1985, which consisted of two basketballs floating in water, which half-fills a glass tank.

Trash art

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Junk art atOak Street Beach
Art made from trash found on the streets of New York City by artistBobby Puleo(2021)

A specific subgenre of found objects is known astrash artorjunk art.[19]These works primarily comprise components that have been discarded. Often they come quite literally from the trash. One example of trash art istrashion,fashion made from trash.Marina DeBristakes trash from the beach and creates dresses, vests, and other clothes. Many organizations sponsor junk art competitions. Trash art may also have a social purpose, of raising awareness of trash.[20]

A permanent yet evolving example of junk art onHighway 66nearAmboy, California

Creating and using trash art can expose people to hazardous substances. For instance, older computer and electronic components can contain lead (in solder and insulation). Jewelry made from these items may require careful handling. In France, trash art became known as "Poubellisme", art made from contents of "poubelles" (trash bins).[citation needed]

Artists who create art from trash include:

  • Spanish artist Francisco de Pajaro ( "Art is trash" or "Arte es basura")[21]
  • Australian artistPaul Yore,who uses trash to create a kind of "kitschqueerness "," bad taste aesthetic ", in order to challenge people's perceptions, and to examine excess consumption in society.[22]

In music

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Found objects can also beused as musical instruments.[23]It is an important part of themusique concrètegenre.

Found sounds have been used by acts includingCop Shoot Cop,Radiohead,[24]Four Tet,[25]The Books,[26]andBjörk.[27]The musicianCosmo Sheldrake,who uses found sounds from the natural world in his music, has stated that incorporating the "soundscape" of ecosystems into music may be an effective means of communicating important messages about issues such as climate change.[28]

Criticism

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The found object in art has been a subject of polarised debate in Britain throughout the 1990s due to the use of it by theYoung British Artists.It has been rejected by the general public and journalists, and supported by public museums and art critics. In his 2000 Dimbleby lecture,Who's afraid of modern art,Sir Nicholas Serotaadvocated such kinds of "difficult" art, while quoting opposition such as theDaily Mailheadline "For 1,000 years art has been one of our great civilising forces. Today, pickled sheep and soiled beds threaten to make barbarians of us all". A more unexpected rejection in 1999 came from artists—some of whom had previously worked with found objects—who founded theStuckistsgroup and issued a manifesto denouncing such work in favour of a return to painting with the statement "Ready-made art is a polemic of materialism".[29]

Artists

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Further information:List of found objects

Many modern artists are notable for their use of found objects in their art. These include the following:

See also

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References

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  1. ^Stribling, Mary Lou (1970).Art from Found Materials, Discarded and Natural.Crown Publishing Group.p. 2.ISBN0-517-54307-9.Retrieved25 June2021.Found Art is a term coined to describe works which are composed in part or entirety of natural or salvaged objects.
  2. ^Dayton, Eric (2 February 1999).Art and Interpretation: An Anthology of Readings in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art.Broadview Press.p. 259.ISBN1-551-11190-X.Retrieved25 June2021.On the surface, anyway, there is no mystery about the making of the great bulk of works of artifactual art; they are crafted in various traditional ways—painted, sculpted, and the like. (Later, I will attempt to go below the surface a bit.) There is, however, a puzzle about the artifactuality of some relatively recent works of art: Duchamp's readymades, found art, and the like. Some deny that such things are art because, they claim, they are not artifacts made by artists. It can, I think, be shown that they are the artifacts of artists. (InArt and the AestheticI claimed, I now think mistakenly, that artifactuality isconferredon things such as Duchamp'sFountainand found art, but I will not discuss this here.)
  3. ^Tankersley, Leeana (14 June 2009).Found Art: Discovering Beauty in Foreign Places.Zondervan.p. 2.ISBN978-0-310-56182-8.Retrieved25 June2021.... That is what we callfound art—a genre of art that started umpteen years ago with a guy in New York who took a urinal and cleverly refashioned it into a fountain. Found art is created when odd, disparate, unlikely, even long-abandoned castoffs are put together with other similarly unexpected remnants to create something new and, if all goes as planned, lovely.
  4. ^definition of Objet trouvé at the MoMA Art Terms page
  5. ^Chilvers, Ian & Glaves-Smith, John eds.,Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art,Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009. pp. 587–588
  6. ^Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade,MoMALearning
  7. ^Dodson, Donna (August 2021)."Interpreting the natural: contemporary visions of scholars' rocks".Creative Arts in Education and Therapy.7(1): 11–13.doi:10.15212/CAET/2021/7/1.S2CID238719901.They embody the original impulse to elevate a found object to fine art status, not unlike a "readymade," where a commonplace artifact is viewed as art.
  8. ^Philippe, Dagen (10 May 2021)."Dix-neuf œuvres des Arts incohérents classées trésor national".Le Monde.
  9. ^Philippe, Dagen (3 February 2021)."17 œuvres des Arts incohérents: un trésor redécouvert dans une malle".Le Monde.
  10. ^Johann, Naldi (April 2022).Arts incohérents, discoveries and new perspectives.Paris: Lienart. pp. 164–183.ISBN978-2-35906-366-0.
  11. ^Duchamp, Marcel trans. and qtd. inGammel, Irene.Baroness Elsa: Gender, Dada and Everyday Modernity.Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2002, 224.
  12. ^Gammel,Baroness Elsa,224–225.
  13. ^"Buddha of the Bathroom",The Blind Man,no. 2, May 1917, pp. 5-6.
  14. ^Francis M. Naumann,New York Dada, 1915-23(New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1994), p. 239, note 17.
  15. ^Shearer, Rhonda Roland:"Marcel Duchamp's Impossible Bed and Other 'Not' Readymade Objects: A Possible Route of Influence From Art To Science",1997.
  16. ^"Tate Collection - The Handsome Pork-Butcher by Francis Picabia".Tate Gallery.16 May 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved6 November2022.
  17. ^"Gift (1921)".Man Ray Photo.Retrieved6 November2022.
  18. ^"There's No Need to be Afraid of the Present",The Independent,25 June 2001
  19. ^Marshall Raeburn Found Object Art:"Stuff I Made from Junk",2009.
  20. ^Heal the Bay. News and Blog feature story, no date given."Styrofoam Cups: From Trash to Fashion."
  21. ^"About".franciscodepajaro(in Spanish).Retrieved3 February2021.
  22. ^Heath, Nicola (6 November 2022)."Australian artist Paul Yore speaks about censorship in art, queer culture and Catholic kitsch as ACCA exhibition surveys his career".ABC News.Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Retrieved6 November2022.
  23. ^SeeThe Music of Man,Y. Menuhinand C. W. Davis, Methuen, Toronto, 1979
  24. ^Randall, Mac (12 September 2000).Exit Music: The Radiohead Story.Delta. pp. 71–73.ISBN0-385-33393-5.
  25. ^"Four Tet Looks Back on 'Rounds'".Rolling Stone.Retrieved2 March2016.
  26. ^"The Books: Making Music Through Found Sound".NPR.Retrieved21 March2016.
  27. ^"Bjork emerges from her internal battle, with strings attached".The Sydney Morning Herald.9 December 2015.Retrieved2 March2016.
  28. ^"At the Intersection of Art, Science and Community".Texas Geosciences.Retrieved8 September2021.
  29. ^Guru, Ella."The Stuckists manifesto".stuckism.
  30. ^"Arman, 76, Found-Object Sculptor, Dies"byKen Johnson,The New York Times,24 October 2005
  31. ^Five Feet of Colorful Tools,1962, MoMA collection
  32. ^Official Louis (Lou) Hirshman website
  33. ^"Fool's House,1962 ".Archived fromthe originalon 31 December 2012.Retrieved7 September2012.
  34. ^One and Three Chairs,1965, MoMA collection
  35. ^"Pablo Picasso's Bull's Head | A Magical Metamorphosis of the Ordinary | Masterpiece by Eric Gibson".The Wall Street Journal.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2023.
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