¶ … eye of the beholder: Reaction to Duchamp's "The Creative Act"

According to Marcel Duchamp's essay "The Creative Act," because of the mysterious nature of the creative process to outsiders, the act of creation is much-misunderstood. The work of an artist has often been described as that of a 'medium,' but suggesting that the creation of art is supernatural, Duchamp believes, undercuts the conscious nature of the creative process. Duchamp suggests that the heart of a living, suffering human being is actually very separate from the objective eye of the artist. Art is not only created in a fit of passion, it does have a conscious intention. However, the artist is not always aware of the effect his or her art will have upon spectators.

Duchamp also engages with the question of what is art. Purely and simply, it is the spectator -- and history (posterity) -- who decides who is a great artist, certainly not the artist him or herself. And art historians often create very different interpretations of works of art that contradict the original artist's rationalization of his work. This also suggests that art is something more than the outpouring of an individual person's soul. Art must be considered in light of its social context from the point-of-view of a critic and the effect it has upon the spectator. Regardless of the intention of the artist, 'art' is only created at the moment it is looked upon by someone else, and interpreted by someone else.

It is true that from the point-of-view of an artist -- whether a good, mediocre, or bad artist -- art is the final result of a chain of emotions. But the artist cannot anticipate the emotions that the gazer will feel when looking upon the art and the interpretation the spectator will apply to the art. This is why Duchamp says that the creative act is not a solitary act, why so many artists are forgotten after enjoying great fame, and why so many artists who were rejected when alive are later considered great. The art does not change; the artist does not change -- but the spectators do.

Work Cited

Duchamp, Marcel. "The Creative Act." From Robert Lebel, Marcel Duchamp, Grove

Press, New York, 1959, pp. 77-78