Re-evaluating the art and chess of Marcel Duchamp

Abstract

The need for a re-evaluation of the art and chess of Marcel Duchamp came about when inconsistencies concerning the nature of chess and what was written about Duchamp's involvement in the game were revealed during two unrelated studies. When learning to play chess, I became interested in the historical development of opening theories. During this time I was attempting to read extensively on Duchamp and the postmodern as part of my undergraduate degree. It became apparent that many of the dominant theories about Duchamp's art made certain assumptions about chess that were false or misleading. The most immediate were theories about Duchamp quitting art to play chess, and that his works about chess were part of the erotic fascinations seen in his major works, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even and Étant donnés. The study opened up not only these anomalies but also a web of historical and theoretical relationships with other disciplines and paradigms. It became apparent that there were more convincing and compelling relationships between art and chess in the life of Duchamp than had been commonly presented. Throughout Duchamp's life, chess was going through a major paradigm shift of its own. Duchamp made many a contribution to this as a player and theoretician. Beyond the realms of art, it was not only chess that held Duchamp's interest, but also science, mathematics, and music. These fields, like that of chess, were also experiencing major historical shifts in theory and practice. The historical term "Post-Modernism" is commonly used to express this shift. In unique ways, Duchamp saw opportunities caused by these historical shifts to merge the theories and practices of these disciplines with that of art. Duchamp merged science with art, chess with art, music with art, but also science with chess, chess with mathematics, and chess with music. The first two chapters of this thesis explore the misconceptions about chess, and present an exploration into paradigms as offering a solution. The solution looks into the historical shifts from the modern to the postmodern and how it was manifest in science, maths, chess and Duchamp's involvement therein. The final three chapters look exclusively at chess: historically, philosophically, theoretically as well as Duchamp's contributions to the game. The thesis concludes by reflecting on Duchamp's works that specifically involve chess as a theme. The significance of this thesis to contemporary art theory and practice is twofold; Firstly, it offers a solution to the problems that continue to concern art and chess in the life and work of Duchamp. Secondly, as Duchamp is often cited as the "Father of Postmodernism" or arts "proto postmodernist," this thesis explores the multiple paradigms and disciplines that characterised Duchamp's own art practice. Contemporary art practice takes for granted the merging and blending of art with the other. There is an inherent correlation to the way contemporary artists merge the practices and theories of art with a myriad of other elements, images, stories, cultures, traditions, practices, languages beyond that of art. Just as we traverse with Duchamp into the paradigms of chess, science and mathematics through this thesis, contemporary art historians and theoriests attempt to follow contemporary artists into foreign realms and back again.