Frenchman fined for attacking urinal artwork

Reuters ^

[presidio9]

A Frenchman who attacked and damaged "Fountain," a urinal declared a work of art by Dada pioneer Marcel Duchamp, was ordered Tuesday to pay a fine of 214,000 euros ($262,700).

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A Paris court also gave Pierre Pinoncelli, 77, a three-month suspended sentence for taking a hammer to the absurdist artwork, the second time he has attacked it since 1993. The attack last month left the ceramic urinal slightly cracked.

Duchamp was a leader of the Dada movement, an avant garde "anti-art" school of the early 20th century that mocked conventional standards, and "Fountain," made in 1917 -- is considered one of the most influential artworks of its kind.

"This was a wink at Dadaism," Pinoncelli told the court in his defense. "I wanted to pay homage to the Dada spirit."

[presidio9]

This urinal can be yours for $75. Wouldn't Duchamp sort of appreciate the irony of replacing it?

[DeFault User]

I see deconstruction is still prevalent in the world of arts and farces.

[KarlInOhio]

At least he didn't draw a moustache on the Mona Lisa.

[presidio9]

BTW, Laszlo Toth, the 33-year-old Australian geologist who atacked Michelangelo's "Pieta" with a hammer, knocking off the Virgin's nose and left arm was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He spent two years in an asylum and was later released.

[LK44-40]

was ordered Tuesday to pay a fine of 214,000 euros ($262,700).

I'd like to pitch in the first Euro to start a ransom fund for this cultural POW.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

He must have been pi$$ed.

[DeFault User]

Trying to destroy the "Pieta" is a crime against humanity. Cracking a urinal with a hammer is only vandalism at worst.

[r9etb]

Note that this is "art" because Duchamp declared it to be so. Other than that, it is no different from any other urinal. That's the essence of Dadaism.

Which raises the obvious corollary question: what if this urinal is a forgery?

[presidio9]

FREE PIERRE PINOCELLI!!!

[Sender]

This is considered a classical piece of art?

[RedMonqey]

Would he have been charged for vandalism if he just used the "object d' art" for it's orginal purpose?


That's my opinion of what it deserves.

[presidio9]

[sam_paine]

I paid to see an exhibit at SFMOMA and that idiotic thing was there, too. I guess I partly contributed to it by paying that entry fee. Shame on me.

[bunches]

"BTW, Laszlo Toth, the 33-year-old Australian geologist who atacked Michelangelo's "Pieta" with a hammer, knocking off the Virgin's nose and left arm was found not guilty by reason of insanity"

...."And in other news some nutcase knocked off the other arm of Venus DeMilo, painted smiles on "Ma and Pa crabby" in that farm picture (American Gothic?) and prescribed an anti-depressant for the "Scream" fella.

And when we see a "Where's Waldo" cartoon on some of our finest Medieveal-era Renaissance artwork, I'll know that civilization as we know it....is doomed.

Sorry. I just feel silly today.

[null and void]

We just don't have enough Dada < /Negativland>

[jordan8]

My understanding is that this is just a replica of the original, indeed the second replica, yet it's worth millions.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Way back in my university days, I once did a two-page photo shoot of various found objects -- like stale bread sticks, scrap metal, etc. (They were supposedly large-scale sculptures -- like the ones the university was considering buying.) It was accompanied by commentary using the usual artsy talk.

After it was published, I was surprised to find debates raging around campus -- with as many people saying it was "art" as those who said it was crap. I knew it was neither -- just a lampoon. Had I had any inkling about Dadism, I guess I could have declared that it was all art. Can I collect my Euros now?

[presidio9]

In my world we just call a functioning replica of a urinal "another urinal."

[GSWarrior]

Attacking a urinal is a good way to get in trouble with your peers.

[presidio9]