La Boîte-en-Valise [Box in a Suitcase]
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About this artwork
This leather case contains sixty-nine miniature reproductions of Duchamp's works. This is number two of twenty-four de-luxe versions of the case. Each of these features a different, hand-coloured 'original' fixed to the inside of the lid. The box 'unpacks' in such a way that some sections slide out, with other folders and black-mounted prints inside. For Duchamp there was no clear distinction between the original and the reproduction, a concept cleverly embodied in this piece. The case is also reminiscent of a travelling salesman's display case, containing a selection of Duchamp's pre-1935 work like a portable museum, made for his move to New York in 1942.
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:La Boîte-en-Valise [Box in a Suitcase]
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date created:1935 - 1941
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materials:Leather-covered case containing miniature replicas and photographs of Duchamp's works (De-luxe edition no. 2/20)
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measurements:10.00 x 38.00 x 40.50 cm (closed size)
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object type:
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credit line:Presented anonymously 1989
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accession number:GMA 3472
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Duchamp was born in France, but lived for much of his adult life in America. In 1911 he was painting in a cubist style, but he virtually stopped painting after 1912. Duchamp was intrigued by the idea that ordinary, mass-produced things could be considered as art objects in their own right. He...