05. Duchamp and Friends
Duchamp and Relationships The impression Duchamp gives is of a Taciturn and aloof personality and therefore it is reasonable to wonder whether Duchamp had any really close friendships. As a person it seems he was not as cold and distant as the impression he gave and was an easy going an agreeable person who indeed had a number of close friendships. In many of his outlandish Art statements he was "assisted" or perhaps egged on by friends and acquaintances and without these perhaps some of the more provocative pieces wouldn't have been submitted. But it seems his close friends were few and carefully chosen. I wish to mention one of the strange predilections of Duchamp that seem very odd and may have been even more strange to people back in these times. One of the earliest examples of Performance Art in the visual arts is Duchamp's creation of a female alter-ego, one Rrose Selavy, in 1920. There are a number of photographs of Duchamp dr...