Comments on: Reinventing the Wheel http://darteboard.com/2008/12/12/reinventing-the-wheel/ Art, Criticism, Snark and More Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:38:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: bennett77 http://darteboard.com/2008/12/12/reinventing-the-wheel/#comment-26 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:16:20 +0000 http://darteboard.wordpress.com/?p=142#comment-26 Art may or may not exist without the manipulatuion and interpretation of objects, ideas and materials; this might be an example of that idea.

]]> By: jdhastings http://darteboard.com/2008/12/12/reinventing-the-wheel/#comment-25 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:31:21 +0000 http://darteboard.wordpress.com/?p=142#comment-25 The obvious association to make here is DuChamp’s readymade “The Bicycle Wheel.” Not only is the subject similar, but part of the reasoning behind the readymades was what you describe. By taking the wheel out of its place of function on a bike and putting it in a place of art, he was turning it into an aesthetic object.

The difference between the two is that Duchamp was the hand making the transition, whereas you waited until the object came to you, more or less, in nature. The hand moving it from the realm of the useful to the realm of the other was the litterbug who tossed the damn thing in the first place.

So then the obvious question is, like the proverbial tree falling alone, if a bicycle wheel sits alone in the forest with no one to observe it, is it art? Or does it take a passing human to contextualize it? Or does it need to be photographed by a human with intent before it becomes an objet d’arte?

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