Duchamp: Love and Death, Even Book

If it is true to say that Marcel Duchamp (1887- 1968) has, of late, been adopted as the father of Pop Art, conceptual art and now post-modernism, it does not follow that his work is more widely or well-understood. Duchamp's complex mixture of iconoclasm, eroticism and scepticism: ready-mades (famously The Fountain) through the mischievous L.H.O.O.Q. (his mustachioed Mona Lisa) to large, intricate pieces (like 1915-23's The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even and 1946-1966's Étant Donnés) is hugely difficult to compartmentalise. Ramirez, in this beautifully produced, almost encyclopedic book, takes each work in turn and gives a history of its creation and a sophisticated reading of its (possible) meaning. Ramirez clearly believes that the misunderstandings surrounding Duchamp's oeuvre are wilful refusals in comprehending work that has quite clear, if disturbing, import. This is not a beginners' guide to Duchamp--the book expects more than a passing acquaintance from its readership of the great Dadaist. But fans of Duchamp, or those whose curiosity has been whetted by such good introductions as Dawn Ades' Marcel Duchamp will find Ramirez' erudite volume a hugely useful addition to their library. --Mark ThwaiteRead More