Marcel #1

I remember learning in Art History about Marcel Duchamp. The professor showed us a slide of his work titled "In Advance of the Broken Arm." You can see this "masterpiece" above.

Uh huh. It's simply a snowshovel.

"Did he make it?" someone asked. "No, he didn't make it," the professor replied. "Oh. Well did he change it somehow? Or paint it?" said another curious student. The answer was no.

Marcel Duchamp took a pre-fab snow shovel, gave it a title, and it ended up at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Check out another one of my favorites, "The Fountain."


Yep. That's an upside down urinal.

Anyway, I guess this really helped to give shape to what my mind considers to be art. It broadened my creative boundaries and helped me to understand that creativity keeps pushing those boundaries further. That's not to say that I absolutely love every modern piece, or that I think Marcel Duchamp was a genius.

But he playfully challenged the standards of his time. He got people talking. He made people think.

In my completely humble opinion, the truly great artists make you think.

I stumbled upon (literally, stumbledupon.com) a website with some street art pieces that I consider totally brilliant. The newspaper is a perfect medium to convey the idea behind the series, called "Slowly Cleared Away by the Environment." Amazing, right?!


Click on the link to see more:
http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=1431

Now I know:
I want this blog to make you think.