Progression 2 Paper Topic Selection

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The topic I decided to choose for my progression 2 paper is the Fountain by Marcel Duchamp.  It is a sculptural art piece using a urinal from 1917 that has been signed by the artist. I picked this one because I felt there is so much to talk about it.  And many different perspectives a viewer of this piece can experience. Above all, I chose this piece because it challenges the idea of art. Does art have to be one hundred percent original or can it be based on an already existing item or idea?  This piece makes people think in great depth about the idea of art and what a piece needs to contain in order to be considered art. It also raises the question of whether or not the walls society has put up for concepts is really healthy for people's mindsets. Are these roadblocks negatively impacting our creativity and ways of thinking? When I look at this piece myself I feel confused, why did the artists want us to look at a urinal of all things? But I believe this kind of thinking is just what the artist wanted the viewer to feel. He wanted us to ponder the many answers that we are coming up with within our heads and all the rationals we think could be the reason. My personal belief is that Duchamp is comparing an actual fountain with a urinal because he believes them to be similar. I can see why he would think that. I mean both are, made of hard material and are meant for the liquid to spew into them and down into the drain to be reused. In an actual fountain, the same water goes through a small cycle through the pipes. Kind of like how after urine goes down the drain the water goes back into the water cycle. You may think this rationale is a little gross (which it is) but if you actually think about it it kind of makes sense.  All in all this piece is an amazing conversation piece and could probably start many many interesting debates. This is one of the main reasons why I picked it and liked it so much. 

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