The artist Marcel Duchamp lived from 1887 to 1968. He is considered one of the foremost contemporary artists of our time. He had a vision that was significantly different from all those who came before him. A true artistic prophet he was a diverse anti-traditionalist in many respects. He was an original founder of the Dada art movement that chose to produce art that in many respects was irreverent, yet was a direct result of the insanity of the world at the time. This art movement took place simultaneously to the great World War One. Marcel and his contemporaries were able to look at the world and see that despite the Renaissance that man could be responsible for untold horrors. These visionaries had a response to this infamy and they chose to begin to think about the world of Art and Design in a different way. In addition to being an accomplished visual artist Marcel Duchamp was the father of the ready-made, a piece of art that once found can be considered as a standalone piece of art because of the selection of the viewer. It was truly the first concept that original art could be collaboration between the original manufacturer and the eye of the viewer. One of his most famous pieces was that of a plumbing fixture which happened to be a urinal. He laid the urinal on its side and signed it "R. Mutt". When the society of independent artists refused to enter it in an exhibition he vehemently defended it on behalf of Mr. Mutt.
Last week I went to the local transfer station which recycles plastics, papers, and metals. There I saw what in my mind was a readymade piece of art. It happened to be an old discarded aluminum pressed engine block probably from some all-terrain vehicle or perhaps a motorcycle. My father owned a motorcycle dealership throughout his career and it provided the bread and butter for our family. Like Marcel Duchamp I am able to look at structures in such a way that I study the design, structure, line and form and decide instantaneously whether it could stand on its own as a readymade piece of art. This particular metal sculpture had good bones and I felt that it was worth asking if I could retrieve it. I have decided to put a beautiful gloss of white paint over it. This monochromatic element along with a base that will be painted a lime green will have an amazing contrast and should show quite well. The poor tired old engine block thought it was heading towards the furnace yet somehow miraculously it was pulled back and spray-painted with the rich color of white almost as if it was the driven snow. I guess this could be considered as a way in which the mechanical structure made it to heaven. No more heat, no more grinding, only the job of sitting there; statuesque, sublime muscle, with a fierce brilliance. The world is a gigantic museum and all we have to do is stand back, look, look again, and think, think. Visual aesthetics can become a powerful panacea, a positive addiction, and a manner in which to make sense of our increasingly complex world. Beauty has been and will always be in the eye of the beholder.