The conceptual artist Rudolf Herz from Munich commissioned 17 street painters on Montmartre in Paris to create drawings based on a photo portrait of Marcel Duchamp. This was an ironic reaction to Duchamp's decision, in 1912, while he was in Munich, that he no longer wanted to be "a painter in the traditional sense." The photo portrait shows Duchamp in a sober objectivity and already points to the development that was groundbreaking through his revolutionary idea of the readymades and his masterpiece "The Big Glass".
Image gallery
Rudolf Herz Buchcover Marcel Duchamp: La Patte
Herz closely links historical research with artistic practice. In addition to publishing his research about Duchamp's mysterious stay in Munich in the book "Le Mystère de Munich", he also reconstructed Duchamp's Munich apartment as a life-size sculpture on a 1:1 scale and placed it in front of the Alte Pinakothek - the place of origin of conceptual art.
The Parisian illustrators who are working on Duchamp's portrait on behalf of Herz bring their own handwriting, their "patte", into the work and thus open up a role play. This is in line with Duchamp's own tendency since the 1920s to present himself in various roles in front of the camera and to reject any identification that might restrict his freedom. The street painters create a diverse kaleidoscope of characters. Duchamp's time in Munich, during which the photo was taken, led to his decision to free himself from any form of artistic signature, the "patte".
The museum FLUXUS+ is pleased to present the exhibition in collaboration with the Museum West The Hague (NL). A catalog book will be published by Kerber Verlag, with contributions from Antje von Grävenitz, Rudolf Herz, Philipp N. John and Marie-José Sondeijker.
Vernissage
The opening is on April 26, 2024 at 6 p.m. in the atrium of the museum FLUXUS+. The artist is present.
On the occasion of the opening, the performer Julia Wahren presents short compositions for solo voice, inspired by Duchamp's virtuoso language games.
Welcome: Heinrich Liman
Introduction and moderation: Dr. Philip Norman John
Admission is free.
