Post modern society has long been asking what makes an influential artist. And who is the most influential artist of the 20th century. The following is a case for Marcel Duchamp. The Duchampian ideals laid out in the beginning of the 20th century changed what it meant to be an artist for the rest of time, influencing artists of different styles and movements. In 1917, Marcel Duchamp submitted a porcelain urinal turned 90 degrees with the name “R. Mutt” signed on it to the exhibition of the New York Society of Independent Artists. The porcelain urinal was not accepted Of course at the time, the world did not know that it was Duchamp, in fact they still were unaware when Duchamp sent an anonymous letter to a magazine called The Blind Man.
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Familiar with the German principle of Gestalt, Morris created his minimalist sculptures mainly focusing on visual relationships. As Arnason wrote, “to ascribe Gestalt to an artwork is to recognize its possession of meaningful, compelling form” (516). In 1967, Morris created the L Beams which is a site specific minimalist sculpture. Free of texture, or even a trace of the artist’s hands the L Beams free the audience from distractions so that they are able to truly experience the shapes. Like The Fountain, L Beams takes a shape that is normally not considered art and Morris changes the audience’s perception and transforms the stainless steel beams into an …show more content…
Known now as the first successful pop artist, Warhol first began creating paintings based on comic strips. Quickly, Warhol “began to concentrate on the subjects derived from advertising and commercial products” (476). Among these products was Coca-Cola, and in 1962 Warhol arranged a grid of 210 Coca-Cola bottles, “literally presented, and arranged as they might be on supermarket shelves or an assembly line” (476) to create 210 Coca-Cola Bottles. Similar to Duchamp, Warhol had not created Coca-Cola, nor had he designed an advertisement for them. Warhol simply chose to look at Coca-Cola in a new light and see it as art, and his pop art challenged his audience to see the grid of Coca-Cola bottles as
Familiar with the German principle of Gestalt, Morris created his minimalist sculptures mainly focusing on visual relationships. As Arnason wrote, “to ascribe Gestalt to an artwork is to recognize its possession of meaningful, compelling form” (516). In 1967, Morris created the L Beams which is a site specific minimalist sculpture. Free of texture, or even a trace of the artist’s hands the L Beams free the audience from distractions so that they are able to truly experience the shapes. Like The Fountain, L Beams takes a shape that is normally not considered art and Morris changes the audience’s perception and transforms the stainless steel beams into an …show more content…
Known now as the first successful pop artist, Warhol first began creating paintings based on comic strips. Quickly, Warhol “began to concentrate on the subjects derived from advertising and commercial products” (476). Among these products was Coca-Cola, and in 1962 Warhol arranged a grid of 210 Coca-Cola bottles, “literally presented, and arranged as they might be on supermarket shelves or an assembly line” (476) to create 210 Coca-Cola Bottles. Similar to Duchamp, Warhol had not created Coca-Cola, nor had he designed an advertisement for them. Warhol simply chose to look at Coca-Cola in a new light and see it as art, and his pop art challenged his audience to see the grid of Coca-Cola bottles as