The fountain by Marcel Duchamp is what epitomizes the Dada movement for me. Not his Mona Lisa with a beard.
When i first saw this piece about two years ago i probably would have argued for days as to why this particular piece was
NOT ART. How could you take the creation of someone else, write a name on it that wasn't even yours, then turn around and place it in a museum and label it ART??????
But after having our discussion in class i can now properly explain why exactly it
IS ART after all.
Although it is important for art to reflect reality it may be even more important that art is a reaction to reality. The Dada artist were tired of the same repetitive forms of art that seemed to never evolve. These artists were making all sorts of advancement in their respective fields but they weren't weren't widely accepted.
When i think back to the most noted artists in history i realize that they too weren't widely accepted during their lifetime either. Van Gogh for instance only sold one of his paintings while he was alive.... Today he's recognized as one of the greatest artists that ever lived.
Art represents reality and what makes art, art to me is that a statement is being made about something that is taking place right now. So if that's done using a urinal i suppose i urinal can be art as well... lol
