An abstract painting need in 50 years by no means look "abstract" any longer.
Marcel DuchampRead
I was never interested in looking at myself in an aesthetic mirror. My intention was always to get away from myself, though I knew perfectly well that I was using myself. Call it a little game between 'I' and 'me.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
Duchamp reflects on the complexity of self-identity and the playful nature of self-examination.
In this quote, Marcel Duchamp expresses his disinterest in superficial self-reflection, preferring instead a deeper exploration of identity through artistic practice. He recognizes the delicate interplay between his true self and the persona he presents, suggesting that this dynamic tension is akin to a game of introspection that goes beyond mere aesthetics.
Themes
Self-IdentityArtIntrospectionPhilosophyPersona
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on modern art, one might use this quote to illustrate the concept of self-exploration in artistic expression.
More from Marcel Duchamp
All quotes →All this twaddle, the existence of God, atheism, determinism, liberation, societies, death, etc., are pieces of a chess game called language, and they are amusing only if one does not preoccupy oneself with 'winning or losing this game of chess.
Marcel DuchampRead
I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art - and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position.
Marcel DuchampRead
I never finished the 'Large Glass' because, after working on it for eight years, I probably got interested in something else; also, I was tired. It may be that, subconsciously, I never intended to finish it because the word 'finish' implies an acceptance of traditional methods and all the paraphernalia that accompany them.
Marcel DuchampRead
It's a product of two poles - there's the pole of the one who makes the work, and the pole of the one who looks at it. I give the latter as much importance as the one who makes it.
Marcel DuchampRead
I became a librarian at the Sainte-Genevieve Library in Paris. I made this gesture to rid myself of a certain milieu, a certain attitude, to have a clean conscience, but also to make a living. I was twenty-five. I had been told that one must make a living, and I believed it.
Marcel DuchampRead
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Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players. ... I have 10 or so, and thats a lot. As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them.
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