Urinal Named As Most Influencial Art

LONDON - A porcelain urinal is the most influential work of modern art, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The poll of 500 arts figures ranked French surrealist Marcel Duchamp's 1917 piece "Fountain" — an ordinary white, porcelain urinal — more influential than Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Andy Warhol's screen prints of Marilyn Monroe and "Guernica," Picasso's searing depiction of the devastation of war.

Duchamp pioneered the use of everyday objects as art, an aesthetic that questioned the nature of art itself.

Art expert Simon Wilson said the choice of Duchamp's urinal "comes as a bit of a shock."

"But it reflects the dynamic nature of art today and the idea that the creative process that goes into a work of art is the most important thing — the work itself can be made of anything and can take any form," he said.

The survey was conducted by Gordon's Gin, which sponsor's Britain's leading art prize, the Turner Prize. The winner of this year's Turner Prize is due to be announced next Tuesday.

At least the lips were an innovation. Duchamp just took a found object and declared it "art" (a lowbrow/common item at that).

I read an interview with Billy Childish (who I already liked musically) and learned of Stuckism.

He does believe in God although he does not appear to subscribe to much of an institutionalized congregation. Even with that somewhat detached appreciation of God, the interviewer I read did not like his talk of God.

Billy Childish also distanced himself from socialism as a political movement. The interviewer seemed to already be counting two strikes against him in spite of his appreciation of Billy's body of work.

Create a PING list and post the names to your profile page. I maintain TWO such lists on mine (Rock and Roll and Houston PINGs) and have a link to a third such list (Media Bias) on An Amused Spectator's page.

Even if I PING people using your list, you can certainly maintain the list easily. I've gone to putting NEAR html code on my profile page so that very little typing is needed to send people to the right location.

Comic art is ART and it is shocking how few museums want to recognize this, let alone build a collection. Jazz age era comic strips (1920s) of Krazy Kat can still be purchased from the family for around $6,000 a Sunday. A BARGAIN in the art world.

I may start up a cartoon/comic PING list (editorial cartoons/comic strips/comic books/ and maybe animated shorts/films/tv series) although I don't know that my interests mimic those of other FReepers I see on the threads. I seem to read more ABOUT comics these days than I do actual comics (and those I do read are probably only published once or twice a year now).

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.