The World Of Marcel Duchamp: 1887-

Time-Life Library of Art

by Calvin Tomkins

January 1st 1972 by Time-Life Books (first published 1966) Hardcover, 192 pages 0809402076 ( 9780809402076)

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Biography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Calvin Tomkins has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1960. He wrote his first fiction piece for the magazine in 1958, and his first fact piece in 1962. His many Profile subjects have included Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, Merce Cunningham, Buckminster Fuller, Philip Johnson, Julia Child, Georgia O’Keeffe, Leo Castelli, Frank Stella, Carmel Snow, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Frank Gehry, Damien Hirst, Richard Serra, Matthew Barney, and Jasper Johns. He wrote the Art World column from 1980 to 1988. Before joining The New Yorker, he was a general editor of Newsweek, a post he held from 1957 through 1959. In 1955, he joined Newsweek as an associate editor. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including “The Bride and the Bachelors,” “Merchants and Masterpieces,” “Living Well Is the Best Revenge,” “Off the Wall,” “Duchamp: A Biography,” and “Lives of the Artists.” A revised edition of his Duchamp biography came out in 2014.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was very interesting and informative, it was not what I expected (and needed) it to be. For a book called The World of Marcel Duchamp, it didn't really have enough about Duchamp in it for my taste...

Idea for a new title: Every art movement influenced by Marcel Duchamp and some bits of his biography but not the whole thing

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The typical format of a book in Life's The World Of.. series would typically focus almost exclusively on the titular artists or juxtapose them with another artist of the time. In between are many tidbits relating to additional artists, the politics and social movements of the time, and numerous other lovely bits of context.

This outing, though, is different. It uses the iconoclastic artist Marcel Duchamp as a framework to tell a much larger story. Instead of focusing on Duchamp, the majority of the pages go towards exploring the art movements of the early 20th century: early expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, with brief stops at Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism.

Duchamp had a influence in these movements, particularly as a inspiration to their philosophies, so it all fits well. But along the way you meet the likes of Pablo Picasso, Jean Arp, Emmy Hennings, Andre Breton, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali (with passing mentions of Matisse, Kandinsky, Warhol, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg.)

To at least make this about Duchamp as well, there is some interesting info about him, including several pages devoted specifically to his most famous work, Large Glass (though I think his 'Fountain' readymade is arguably his most iconic work today).

If you ever found yourself bewildered or damning of the art movements that wholly transformed art in the last century, this will be a very interesting read. As is typical of this Life series, the book is detailed yet ideal for laypersons, keeps a good pace, covers plenty of ground, and offers many gorgeous photographs of many artworks.

[Eric Aguirre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro bastante convencional sobre Marcel Duchamp. Hace un recorrido por su obra, pero también nos habla de la enorme influencia que tu ve su trabajo en otros artistas. Sobre todo en los americanos, tipos como Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns e inclusive Warhol, son ramas y hojas de esa raíz llamada Duchamp.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew very little about 20th century art. I now know a little more, thanks to this volume. But some of this art - or I should say, these art movements - I don't like any better.

[Frankie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm impressed. The author sort-of grazes the treetops of 20th century art history. I was surprised that so little was said concerning Duchamp's private life, but I learned a great deal about his career as an artist/anti-artist. I suppose that these Time-Life books are all pretty broad in their critical capacity.

[Zach Chasnoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freakin completely kick ass awesome. After reading this, Marcel DuChamp is easily my favorite people of all time. This book gives you, not only a good look at DuChamp but, a comprehensive look at, the evolution of art from the turn of the century to the '70's and, the artists involved.

[Jordan West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this literally dozens of times back in 8th grade, when I wanted to be a surrealist with all the fervor of my little-boy heart.