Fountain By Marcel Duchamp

Many people believe that a urinal is the most influential piece of modern art from the twentieth century. This piece called “Fountain” was created by Marcel Duchamp. There are conflicting views on whether this represents art, but how can one claim it as art or not if there is no set boundary for art. Art is the use of any method or any activity that alters something to a different state, whether that be philosophical or physical. Art is subjective, and to make art is to create which involves combining ideas to form meaning. An artist is not required to make art. An artist is one with a specified skill, and him or her utilize it as a profession or hobby. Art does not have to be made by an artist, but anyone can have the potential to be an artist

This would have been something beautiful created by nature. Art does not technically have to be beautiful though, as this is proved when the modern era of art came about. “Fountain” itself is not the most aesthetically pleasing, yet is considered art by lots of people. As a piece of driftwood is created by nature, “Fountain” was created by a nonexistent artist named Richard Mutt. In both cases no artist was specifically noted, so it challenges the notion of art having to be made by an artist. A piece of driftwood is art in the way of which the colors and design merge together on the wood, and “Fountain” is considered art for the thoughts it proposes. Who is Richard Mutt? Why use a urinal? What was Duchamp’s message? All these questions propose new ideas, and that in itself creates art. Now, there are arguments that driftwood is not art, and neither is “Fountain,” but that is hard to defend due to the thoughts both create. Driftwood is beautiful, while “Fountain” is not, yet many people would consider both to be art for what was

Orlan was transformed by a doctor. Orlan wanted to change the features of her face to look like famous works of art, like the forehead of Mona Lisa and the eyes of Diana. Regardless of what features she wanted, this is still art because of the creation behind it. Yes, some can see this as fake and false because she is not being her true self, but the meaning one can find behind it, as well as the creativeness utilized to accomplish this is undeniable. In a different way, “Fountain” demonstrates creativeness as well. Duchamp chose to buy a urinal out of all readymade pieces and write the name of someone nonexistent on it, which is pretty creative in itself. It removed all aesthetics, and most likely took thought to create because Duchamp was trying to prove something when he created this work of art. He challenged preconceived notions from before the modern era, and Orlan does the same thing. Orlan shows the struggle against the innate, against nature, and against DNA, but was not created by an artist originally. In both works of art, there is no real artist, yet both create and put deeper meanings behind