Marcel Duchamp at the Age of 85: An Icon of Conceptual Photography

by Marcel Duchamp (Artist)

In 1945, Marcel Duchamp published a photographic self-portrait in the American magazine View which depicted him--according to the caption--“at the age of 85.” In reality he was, at the time, only 58 years old. In other words, the camera was being used as a “time machine,” but not, as customary, to capture a present moment, but rather to look into the future. Until now, the circumstances surrounding this early instance of the “staged photograph” were unknown. This book includes a recently discovered script by Friedrich Kiesler, published here for the first time, in which Kiesler describes in full detail how he assisted his friend Duchamp in styling himself as a senile artist–philosopher for the lens of New York photographer Percy Rainford. The well-known Duchamp expert Herbert Molderings interprets Duchamp’s self-portrait as an innovative, conceptual use of photography.

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2013

About the author

Marcel Duchamp (also known as Rrose Sélavy) was a French artist (he became an American citizen in 1955) whose work and ideas had considerable influence on the development of post-World War I Western art, and whose advice to modern art collectors helped shape the tastes of the Western art world.

While he is most often associated with Dada and Surrealism, his participation in Surrealism was largely behind the scenes, and after being involved in New York Dada, he barely participated in Paris Dada.

Thousands of books and articles attempt to interpret Duchamp's artwork and philosophy, but in interviews and his writing, Duchamp only added to the mystery. The interpretations interested him as creations of their own, and as reflections of the interpreter.

A playful man, Duchamp prodded thought about artistic processes and art marketing, not so much with words, but with actions such as dubbing a urinal "art" and naming it Fountain. He produced relatively few artworks as he quickly moved through the avant-garde rhythms of his time.