Multiples

As soon as that word, 'multiples' was uttered, I immediatley had in my head all these numbers, millions and millions of them. Now maths wasnt my strong point, but who am I kidding, this was an art lecture not a maths lecture. Multiples aye, I didnt really realise that art was full of multiples. I also kind of failed to realise what Mr Duchamp had to do with multiples. But then understanding and actually listening, writing down notes really does help alot, and of course those wonderful handouts Grant gives to us.

Duchamps very well known and notorious 'Fountain' [1917] was the starting point of our lecture, and yet I still failed to see how this peice of artwork was seen as a multiple, not until I read further that I understood. Duchamps 'ready mades' were multiples because they were made out of existing and mass produced parts. So in a few easy steps I am going to teach you, yes you, how to make a fantastic peice of artwork, a ready made and a multiple. Step 1. Choose an object, any object or even two, heck it could even be a urinal. Step 2. Shove them together in a fantastic way. Step 3. Sign and date it. And voila!! Hey presto, this object just became a peice of art. And there has been the least amount of interaction between you [the artist] and the art. Duchamp never really was able to define the word 'ready made' or even explain his opinion on them. The term ready made was a pretty common name in the US of A to describe manufactured objects aka a warehouse churning out 1000 chairs a day to sell them to the public at a reasonable price. This kind of reminds me of those spray on clothes otherwise known as 'fabrication'. Seriously you could change your outfit like 50 times a day if you had a bag full of spray on clothes. But back to my point, readymades are manufactured products which are distinguished from handmade goods.

Walter Benjamin believes that traditional are have about them an aura. For example, film and photography point to this idea. Benjamin believes that there is a loss of aura through the mechanical reproduction of art itself. Film and photography loses its aura because anyone can pick up a camera and take a photo, and anyone can pick up a film camera and make a movie, it has lost its originality and authenticity. 'A painting as an aura while a photograph does not; the photograph is an image of an image while the painting remains utterly original' By Walter Benjamin in his essay, 'The Work of Art In The Age of Mechanical Reproduction'

Andy Warhol uses the idea of multiples extensively in his artwork, we've all heard of this master in Pop Art, the pioneer if you must. He is famous for the artwork's like the Campbells soup cans, he made tens, hundreds and thousands of these works, most being the same. Becasue of all of these it is hard to pin point the original, no one would have the original, simply because there are so so many. If everyone in the world was given a Campbells soup can work by Warhol we would all be even, none would be better than the other, because they are all the same, because theres thousands of them. Which is different to the idea of the great masterpeices, such as the Mona Lisa, thousands have travelled to Paris to see this little painting of the silent figure that sits there. Fact: Did you know that there are three different versions of the Mona Lisa under the finished one? Interesting isnt it. Whilst there are plenty of reproductions of this Mona Lisa for post cards, fridge magnets and what have you. There is only ONE original, which is different to the thousands of Campbells soup cans by our dear Mr Warhol.