Art Without an Artist

“What is art?”

This question has been asked countless times and answered in a million different

ways. Most convections of art are associated with high culture, or capital-C Culture. This

idea gives the notion of art a privileged, elite feeling, belonging only to those with an

extensive understanding of art. This idea of art came about around the mid- to late-

nineteenth century. Marcel Duchamp broke this mould by questioning the meaning of

“art”, “artist”, and “value”.

Readymades are functional, everyday objects that are taken out of their usual

context or original use. The objects that make up a readymade are by no means unique,

elaborate, or in any way special. Furthermore, these objects are placed together in a way

that anyone could. There is very little originality in the obvious look of these of pieces.

However, what makes them special is the way the artist views the objects. The artist takes

his or her perspective and tries to reproduce these new thoughts for others to experience.

For example, in 1919, Duchamp made one of his first reproducible readymades,

Paris Air. It is composed of a vile, purchased a at Parisian chemist’s “on the corner of the

rue Blomet and the rue de Vaugirard.” He emptied the vile, replaced it with air from Paris,

and sealed it. This piece is a readymade because it is made with a simple 125 cc vile and

fresh air. The artist also doesn’t have to be present for its assembly. All he has to do is

send instructions on what to do to someone who he can trust in sending the final product

back. Duchamp sees the ordinary air of Paris streets as art in and of itself. By capturing it

in a vile and sealing it so air will always be in it, he is changing the value of ordinary air that
many people breathe into “special” air, air that only those who live in Paris, get to

appreciate. Although air is generally abundant and free, its entrapment and display takes

away its use, but gives it exchange value that, in any other view, would never be assigned to

it.

Duchamp’s readymades critiqued historical notions of value in the art world in

several different ways. First, it questions the definition of art. What makes an object a

work of art as opposed to just another everyday object? The answer lies in the context it’s

viewed in. As the context of the object changes, so does its value. Its use value is

completely changed from something that is practical, functional, and useful, into a piece of

art. With a change in use to a piece of art, its exchange value increases. These ordinary

objects, though stripped of their usefulness, increase in exchange value due to the new title

of “art.”

Through his readymades, Duchamp revolutionized the notion of the artist. He

showed that there are two parts to making a piece of art: the concept behind the piece, and

the construction of it. The artist no longer has to be present for the creation of an artwork.

The artist just has to come up with the idea: to recognize an object as art, strip it of its

everyday context, and give it a new meaning to convey. The artist’s hands are replaced

with his or her imagination, creativity, and logic.