Marcel Duchamp is famous for his Readymades. His piece, Fountain, a urinal signed “R.Mutt” and submitted to (and rejected by) the exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in 1917, for instance, changed the way we define art by removing the pedestal from beneath the “sculpture” and placing it beneath the world entire. What he is less known for, however, is his affinity for chess.
Fleeing the New York art scene, shortly after the 1917 incident, Duchamp headed to Buenos Aires, where he created his own chess set, assisted by a local craftsman. The set, unfortunately, disappeared into the entropy of time, until now. Almost 100 years later, Bryan Cera and Scott Kildall have recreated Duchamp’s handcrafted set. Analyzing photos of the artist’s set, Cera and Kildall digitally carved their own version. The set, titled Readymake: Duchamp Chess Set, is currently available for download at Thingiverse.
The artists describe their project as a continuation of Duchamp’s Readymade concept, extending it into the digital era:
Inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s readymade – an ordinary manufactured object that the artist selected and modified for exhibition – the readymake brings the concept of the appropriated object to the realm of the internet, exploring the web’s potential to re-frame information and data, and their reciprocal relationships to matter and ideas…
Most importantly, a readymake does not exist solely as a virtual object. Every readymake that is downloaded and produced will see subtle inconsistencies in computer numerical controlled manufacturing – along with the varying 3D printing technologies, variants of specific printer designs, and unique combinations of software and hardware commonly used in ubiquitous DIY digital fabrication systems – always yielding unique results.
Duchamp said in the 1960s, about his readymade creations, “I’m not at all sure that the concept of the readymade isn’t the most important single idea to come out of my work.” Today, in an age of digital fabrication and open source design, the boundaries between concept and object continue to blur. We invite other thinkers and makers to join our exploration of conceptual-material formations – to discover and create with our readymakes, and contribute their own.
In other words: 3D print it, sign it, and submit it to an art festival. Or simply play with it. The choice is yours!
Source: artnet (Hat Tip to CalArts Alumni Jeremy Hight)
