An abstract painting need in 50 years by no means look "abstract" any longer.
Marcel DuchampRead
My position is the lack of a position, but, of course, you can't even talk about it; the minute you talk, you spoil the whole game.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the complexity of maintaining a neutral stance in discussions about art and ideas, suggesting that articulating such a stance can undermine its essence.
Marcel Duchamp's quote emphasizes the paradox of defining one's position on subjective matters like art and philosophy. He suggests that true neutrality can be disrupted by the act of expressing it verbally; the moment one tries to articulate a lack of position, they inadvertently impose a context that changes the game altogether. This highlights the intricacy of understanding and discussing concepts that are inherently fluid and subjective.
Themes
ArtPhilosophyNeutralityExpressionCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about modern art at a gallery opening.
More from Marcel Duchamp
All quotes βAll 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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