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Readymade Daily

Studio of Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp (1913)

You have to approach the thing with an indifference, as if you had no aesthetic emotion. – Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp’s invention of the readymade changed the course of twentieth century art. Investigating the question of whether it is possible to make a work that is not a work of art led him to select ordinary, industrially manufactured objects and to present them as works of art. One of the most important moments was the selection of the object. It was to happen with complete indifference, completely avoiding the influence of “taste.”

On the occasion of Duchamp’s birthday (28 July 1887), DIGITALSOULS.COM presents a selection of digital readymades, selected with complete indifference by the random file function offered by Wikimedia. A new “digital readymade” is selected with Wikimedia’s random file function for each day, starting July 28, 2021., for as long as it is amusing. We may apply some selections or modifications to the original item, but a link to the original file is a random selection, perhaps with a Wikimedia bias in terms of available files and image topics, but no taste for sure.

 

Gallery

The choice of readymades is always based on visual indifference and, at the same time, on the total absence of good or bad taste. – Marcel Duchamp

1024px_रुद्रगयामाहात्म्य._(from_स्कन्दपुराण.)_(IA_dli.granth.17122).pdf
072722 - रुद्रगयामाहात्म्य._(from_स्कन्दपुराण.)
768px-ND_de_Nazareth_vitrail_2
072622 - ND_de_Nazareth_vitrail_2
1024px_Strömsholms_kanal_vid_kanalmuseet
072522 - Strömsholms_kanal_vid_kanalmuseet
1280px_Western_Zhou_Stone_Mould_for_Axe_(10081976634)
072422 - Western_Zhou_Stone_Mould_for_Axe
Rhino_horn_in_packaging_(4989580149)
072322 - Rhino_horn_in_packaging
1024px_Grand_hôtel_de_la_gare,_Visé
072222 - Grand_hôtel_de_la_gare,_Visé
1280px-Boeing_717-200_SFO
072122 - Boeing_717-200_SFO
John_Randolph_-_Chester_Harding
072022 - John_Randolph_-_Chester_Harding
1280px_Segnavia_della_VML2
071922 - Segnavia_della_VML2
1280px-Amasra_109
071822 - Amasra_109
Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Princely_House_of_Karageorgevich
071722 - Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Princely_House_of_Karageorgevich
Lungenpest
071622 - Lungenpest
1280px_Cape_Neddick,_Maine
071522 - Cape_Neddick,_Maine
836px-thumbnail
071422 - Известия_Сочинского_Свято
1280px_Livermore_ACE_station_2288_07
071322 - Livermore_ACE_station_2288_07
1280px-General_Louis_Botha_first_prime_minister_of_the_Union_South_Africa_Union_Buildings_Pretoria_016
071222 - General_Louis_Botha_first_prime_minister_of_the_Union_South_Africa
1280px_Kopf_eines_Chileflamingo
071122 - Kopf_eines_Chileflamingo
1280px-Kalaspordibaas_bus_stop_2009
071022 - Kalaspordibaas_bus_stop_2009
872px_An_Encyclopaedia_of_cottage,_farm,_and_villa_architecture_and_furniture_1839_(112057759)
070922 - An_Encyclopaedia_of_cottage,_farm,_and_villa_architecture_and_furniture_1839
Fields,_Westfields_of_Rattray_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1246999
070822 - Fields,_Westfields_of_Rattray
1280px_Annual_Confession_In_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Seoul_판공성사표
070722 - Annual_Confession_In_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Seoul_판공성사표
1280px-Mumbai_Monorail_(14568680190)
070622 - Mumbai_Monorail
1280px_Mayfield_Village_PD_Dodge_Charger_(14014814360)
070522 - Mayfield_Village_PD_Dodge_Charger
1280px_ISS043-E-202015_-_View_of_Earth
070422 - ISS043-E-202015_-_View_of_Earth
768_El_Paso_International_Daily_Times._(El_Paso,_Tex.),_Vol._Tenth_Year,_No._108,_Ed._1_Tuesday,_May_6,_1890_-_DPLA_-_61cff411001f60fb6c2f813cf0124263_(page_8)
070322 - El_Paso_International_Daily_Times._Tuesday,_May_6,_1890
1280px-524_Prachatice_Štěpánčin_park_a_Hradební_ulice_V
070222 - Prachatice_Štěpánčin_park_a_Hradební_ulice
1280px-9484Calauan_Poblacion_Roads_Barangays_48
070122 - 9484Calauan_Poblacion_Roads_Barangays_48
Kit_shorts_2017-18_MIN_city
063022 - Kit_shorts_2017-18_MIN_city
1280px-Rathen_SSz1
062922 - Rathen_SSz1
768px_Clemens,_L_C_-_State-_(Blank)_-_Year-_(Blank)_-_DPLA_-_933fac484b511a1fb385f366bdf0b3d3
062822 - Clemens,_L_C_-_State-_(Blank)_-_Year-_(Blank)
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“Digital readymades” have been rapidly accepted as common forms of artworks in recent new media art. Well known examples are  works that present collections of Google Street View imagery and other online scavenger works.

For more on digital readymades, please take a look at my new book generation/mutation: from crowdsourced to ai-sourced new media art, where I talk about the role of digital readymades in contemporary new media art.

 

1 thought on “Readymade Daily

  1. Interesting post and project! Thanks for sharing

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