The ''Bottle Rack'' (also called ''Bottle Dryer'' or ''Hedgehog'') (''Egouttoir'' or ''Porte-bouteilles'' or ''Hérisson'') is a proto-Dada artwork created in 1914 by

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

. Duchamp labeled the piece a " readymade", a term he used to describe his collection of ordinary, manufactured objects not commonly associated with art. The readymades did not have the serious tone of European Dada works, which criticized the violence of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and instead focused on a more nonsensical nature, chosen purely on the basis of a "visual indifference". The

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

purchased one of the replicas of ''Bottle Rack'' in 2018.

Origin

Marcel Duchamp claimed to have bought the ''Bottle Rack'' at a department store called Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville near the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

city hall. The ''Bottle Rack'' was a typical, metal rack used for the drying of bottles, but the spiky, aggressive appearance of the piece earned it the name of ''Hedgehog''. Unlike the earlier ''

Bicycle Wheel A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for a bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels. Bicycle wheels are typically designed ...

'' (1913) or ''Pharmacy'' (1913), the ''Bottle Rack'' was not modified in any way, making it the first, "true" example of a readymade. The ''Bottle Rack'' also had an inscription scribbled on its side, much like the infamous ''R. Mutt'' of Duchamp's ''

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

'' (1917) piece, though the actual words remain a mystery as Duchamp had forgotten the inscription by the time it had been thrown out.

Legacy

The original piece was mistaken as rubbish due to its appearance, and was thrown out by Duchamp's sister and stepsister after the artist left France in 1914 for the US. While the original no longer survives, the legacy of the work lives on, with at least seven replicas residing in prominent museums, such as the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, the

Norton Simon Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Sim ...

, and the

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet ("the Museum of Modern Art"), Stockholm, Sweden, is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened a new branch in Malmö in t ...

. Without any actual modifications by the artist, the ''Bottle Rack'' is iconic for being Duchamp's first, "true" readymade. While Duchamp asserted that his readymades were done without any specific reason, art critics contend that the piece has sexual undertones of a

Freudian Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

nature. Critics suggest that the metal spikes represent the male genitalia, and that the absence of bottles is a reference to Duchamp being a bachelor at the time, a theme they claim is repeatedly conveyed throughout his works.

Notes and references

{{Marcel Duchamp Destroyed sculptures Marcel Duchamp works 1914 sculptures Modernist sculpture Sculptures of the Norton Simon Museum

Origin

Legacy

See also

Notes and references