Major influences on "modern" art?: Your thoughts.

Duchamp smart? How dumb must a guy be to install his urinal upside down?

Surely, you recognize this inverted display of Duchamp's ensign as an international signal of distress?

Howling...



on the 500, it is to ward off various playful new members, sadly needed.

I do consider Picasso's "Desmoiselles d'Avignon" a revolutionary image in the same company as Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" and the Eiffel Tower. However, Picasso's influence just doesn't show up in much more than Picasso's later work. Picasso created what might be called a cul-de-sac in the road forward. It really all depends on what one conceives as the state-of-the-art in the mid to late eras of the 20th Century. Historians have a viewpoint and it's kind of difficult to rewrite what they have written. In that way, the urinal was the handwriting on the bathroom wall, hey -- what?

I've written this before, of course, and to be influenced or in any way emulate Picasso's work would only end up looking like the artist was copying Picasso. There's a young girl whose name escapes me at the moment who has been commercially successful doing just that. There are enough amateur collectors out there to support such a phenomena.

Yeah but for how long? I've seen her work, colorful and indicative of talent, but what can a child do beyond purely decorative work? It's like expecting a youthful chess whizz to also write profound philosophy or literature. I say this despite the fact that I'd like to be able to paint like a child or even a cat.
I think I'll invert a urinal just in case I'm wrong about Duchamp. Maybe it will be a profound creative experience.
It's late.

Easter is coming up, is it not?

Osso, not til April?

You can tell I was getting an fine hat in readiness... but I was thinking You would wear it.

Sadly, I think I have been throwing toiletries on to others, indeed, good friends. I suppose I should take it upon myself to bear certain hats.

Osso, toiletries and hats? I'm lost.

The roots of modern art can be quite outre.

No, no, it's me. I was riffing. I should keep that stuff in my mind, not in the reply box. OK, I'll try to reconstruct -

April reminded me of Easter, which reminded me of hats.
Duchamp reminded me of toilets, which reminded me of toiletries.
Clearly I should have a fifteen minute pause after typing before actually posting anything.

Ah, toilet. I should have got it. Thanks for the explanation. Now explain to me what's "riffing"?


Not that I understood "outre". Other than that I'm fine.

er, to me it means taking off on a flight of word play..

isn't it originally a musical term? as in when jazz players go off on a flight of fancy, free-flying with the music?


that's definitely what Osso was up to! Abstract conversation ....


riff away Osso

Yes, that is where it's from.

Urinalotatrouble.

Diaper anyone?

Hmmm, is "outre" embedded somewhere in "unrinalotatrouble"? Sounds like one of the more exotic (maybe French) coffee concoctions at Starbucks.

OK, from now on I'm going back to being serious.