The Concept Behind This Study
For this upcoming project, I'm diving deep into Marcel Duchamp's revolutionary approach to art-making through his readymades. But I'm not just looking at them as conceptual objects—I'm exploring how they function as exercises in Surrealist automatism.
Duchamp's readymades can be read as exercises in Surrealist automatism, where the unconscious mind guides the creative process. By creating my own readymade, I'll engage directly with this method of chance selection and instinctual decision-making.
Through reimagining the everyday, I aim to explore how meaning can emerge from ordinary objects, demonstrating how Duchamp's approach continues to offer insight into Surrealist creativity and the ongoing dialogue between concept, perception, and the unconscious.
Research & Planning
Theoretical Framework
I'm currently researching the intersection between Duchamp's conceptual approach and Surrealist automatism. The key is understanding how the "readymade" functions not just as an artistic statement, but as a method of accessing unconscious creative processes.
André Breton's concept of automatism emphasized bypassing rational thought to access pure psychic expression. Duchamp's readymades, with their emphasis on chance encounters and intuitive selection, operate on similar principles.
My Approach
Rather than simply selecting an object intellectually, I plan to use automatic methods to guide my choice. This might involve chance operations, stream-of-consciousness walks through different spaces, or other techniques that bypass rational decision-making.
The goal is to let the unconscious mind encounter and recognize the object that wants to become art—much like how Duchamp described his process of selection.
Process Documentation
What I Hope to Discover
This project is as much about the process as it is about the final object. I'm curious to see what emerges when I truly let go of preconceived notions and allow chance and intuition to guide the work.
Will the object I select surprise me? How will the context of its presentation shift its meaning? And how does engaging with Duchamp's methods nearly a century later reflect our current relationship with everyday objects and consumer culture?
Project Timeline
Phase 1: Research & Theoretical Framework (In Progress)
Phase 2: Automatic Selection Process (Coming Soon)
Phase 3: Documentation & Presentation (TBD)
Phase 4: Reflection & Analysis (TBD)