Jim Moske at Cabinet Magazine:
In 1912, an imposing trio of European artists were perusing the Paris Air Show, transfixed by displays of aircraft and flight gear from the early years of human aviation. One of them, painter Fernand Léger, later recalled that his friend Marcel Duchamp voiced an unsettling insight as he pondered the nose of a plane. “It’s all over for painting. Who could better that propeller?” Duchamp then leveled a challenge at sculptor Constantin Brancusi: “Tell me, can you do that?” Brancusi remained undaunted, later declaring, “Now that’s what I call a sculpture! From now on, sculpture must be nothing less than that.” Léger believed the revelatory encounter launched Duchamp on the path to create his first “readymade,” Bicycle Wheel (1913), in which the titular symbol of human-engineered mobility was affixed upside down to a wooden stool.
This groundbreaking conceptual work, which made a case for the artistic merit of mass-produced commercial objects, would inspire others to explore the aesthetic potential of fabricated industrial forms. Brancusi, perhaps recalling the air show visit, went on to make a flock of sleek Bird in Space sculptures that resembled individual propellor blades.
more here.
Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now.