Urinal Named As Most Influential Art

Urinal Named As Most Influential Art

LONDON - A porcelain urinal is the most influential work of modern art, according to a survey released Wednesday.

Reuters Photo

The poll of 500 arts figures ranked French surrealist Marcel Duchamp's 1917 piece "Fountain" an ordinary white, porcelain urinal more influential than Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Andy Warhol's screen prints of Marilyn Monroe and "Guernica," Picasso's searing depiction of the devastation of war.

Duchamp pioneered the use of everyday objects as art, an aesthetic that questioned the nature of art itself.

Art expert Simon Wilson said the choice of Duchamp's urinal "comes as a bit of a shock."

"But it reflects the dynamic nature of art today and the idea that the creative process that goes into a work of art is the most important thing the work itself can be made of anything and can take any form," he said.

The survey was conducted by Gordon's Gin, which sponsor's Britain's leading art prize, the Turner Prize. The winner of this year's Turner Prize is due to be announced next Tuesday.