History Project

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In the Digital Art article by Christiane Paul, Paul mentions a variety of artists and how they have contributed to digital art. One key artist mentioned is Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp explored interactions between objects and their optical effects early on. His readymades play a key role in digital works of art. In 1919, Duchamp recreated the Mona Lisa with his own twist. He drew on a moustache and goatee and renamed it L.H.O.O.Q. L.H.O.O.Q. is considered a combination between a readymade and iconoclastic Dadaism.

I had previously sketched an image of a fox based off a picture and added a moustache at the request of my friend. It is obviously similar to Duchamp in the fact that both images contain a moustache where the original did not. Just like L.H.O.O.Q., my fox drawing can be considered a readymade since it is not my original work. It is only a drawing based on someone else’s photography. I feel that both images lose their original intent with the addition of the moustache. They become less serious and can be seen as more of a joke. Duchamp’s readymades questioned what is art and by manipulating commodities he changed the viewer’s perspective. I think the moustache on my fox duplicates that view change a little bit but not to the extent of Duchamp.