Monday, October 15, 2007

La Mariee mise a nu par ses celibataires, meme (or The Bride Sripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even)

In La Mariee mise a nu par ses celibataires, meme (or The Bride Sripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even), also known as The Large Glass, Duchamp takes abstraction to the next level. The two large glass plates are a collection of media which includes paint, wire, mirror plating, and even dust. He uses these to create the image of a single figure in the top image, and 9 figures in the bottom. While Duchamp claims that the title is not meant to be taken as lierally what he desired the images to be depicted as, one cannot help bt associate the single fiure as a women and the 9 bottom figures to be 9 males waiting to win over the lady. The figures appear to be in two separate rooms.
If I had to guess at first would think all the images were placed in different areas of an attic. After having read the excerpt on Duchamp's piece by Calvin Tompkin, I begin to look further into the piece. I was able to see the tension between the male figures and female figure. She obviously has some power over them, based upon her placement in the upper part of the piece. I also could see why feminists could be offended because of the portrayal of the woman beingg chased by 9 men like she was an animal.
While typically I am a fan of DuChamp's work, The Large Glass is not one of my favorites. I find it to be just too abstract for my taste. I find the mix of mediums to be interesting, but the presentation to not be at the same level in quality.

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