Ready-mades and Functional Art

I believe artists such as Duchamp and later Andy Warhol had a major impact on the lack of definition we can give to "art." Duchamp's upside-down urinal or "The Fountain" can be considered the first introduction of ready-mades into the public sphere. Duchamp was criticized and not allowed to show his piece. However, this piece, however simple and common it may be, blurred the concept of art as purely paintings or sculptures. In reality most of these works of art actually function to mimic ready-mades, for example still life paintings. Duchamp was only skipping this step in showing what people usee or see or try to mimic in their art as art itself.

In thinking of my own ideas for ready-mades, I realized that I could make an argument for anything. An object i found most interesting though was the bra. For most women, the bra is a part of everyday attire and is something we often do not think too much about, especially in terms of it being art. The bra as art though functions in calling attention to various aspects of female life. In the sixties, women burned their bras in promoting female empowerment.

The bra today, complete with its wire-lined form fitting structure can still serve as a symbol of repression and male dominance over women's freedom. The difference for me in wearing and not wearing a bra does in fact deal with the aspect of freedom and once again comments on learned social mannerisms and public vs private space. On the other hand, some men and women see the bra as a representation of femininity. Bras distinguish men from women and their appearance whether it be the structure, fabric, or colors all present a delicate, comforting, and attractive image of women. Some people view bras as symbols of power, taking the opposite approach of feminists in the sixties, because it flaunts that which men do not have and yet desire. In researching the bra as a ready-made I found out that i am not the first to viwe the object in this way. There are many websites, the one below in particular which comment on the meaning behind bras. I like this object because it has versatility and can be controversial on many different levels depending on gender, politics, religion, and selfhood.

http://www.bigbustsupport.com/bra_art.html

Art that was made to be art can function as everyday objects as well. This side of the argument makes me think of modern art that people decorate their homes with.

Initially these pieces may have been created just to be seen. The style and aesthetic is characteristic of modern art. However as the genre has gained more popularity, these techniques have been applied to functional art, in this case, chairs. I think in terms of looking at art as functional this is often the case. Styles are borrowed in order to incorporate art into our everyday lives. In this way, ready-mades can be more directly seen as art because it is explicit. People do not need to think about the objects as art so much because they are made with that idea already in mind. In a way, this is less controversial and thought-provoking than want Duchamp originally intended.