Marcel Duchamp books

Marcel Duchamp: Etant donnes (Philadelphia Museum of Art)

by: Michael R. Taylor
If you buy one modern art book this year, this should be the one. It is the catalogue for the current exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where most of Duchamp's works are kept.

It thoroughly documents the inception, over a period of twenty years (until Duchamp's death in 1968) of his most important work, "Etant donnés: 1/ La chute d'eau, 2/ Le gaz d'éclairage", a work that sums up all of the artist's theories and - above all -mysteries (at the time of the creation of "Etant donnés.
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Dialogues With Marcel Duchamp (Da Capo Paperback)

by: Pierre Cabanne
This interview with Marcel Duchamp by Pierre Cabanne provides clarity to the myth that surrounds Duchamp and his non art. Duchamp gave the interview about 2 years before his death. He answers directly and in context the meaning of his work and non work. Others books attempt to tell us not only what his production means but try to tell us what his words mean as well. This books makes clear that Duchamp did not like the art world (although he used it to his advantage), he did not like art that appealed to the eye, he did not make art, he amused himself making objects and he played games.
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Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess

by: Francis M. Naumann, Bradley Bailey, Jennifer Shahade
I should say that, having an avid interest in both chess and art, a fair amount of the material presented here was known to me. The strength of this effort, however, is to present much disparate information as a coherent whole. Francis M. Naumann's essay, in particular, is very well done and constitutes the core of the book. He has reportedly delayed a writing on this subject for many years, and his long consideration of the subject is reflected in his assimilative skills and much good judgment throughout.
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Marcel Duchamp: Manual of Instructions: Etant donnes, revised edition (Philadelphia Museum of Art)

by: Marcel Duchamp

Out of print for a number of years, this facsimile of Marcel Duchamp’s Manual of Instructions was prepared by the artist for the disassembly of Étant donnés in his New York studio and its reassembly at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. First published more than twenty years ago, the manual has had far-reaching ramifications for the study of Étant donnés and Duchamp. Illustrated with 116 black-and-white Polaroids taken by the artist and 35 pages of his handwritten notes and sketches, the revised edition includes a new essay by Michael R.
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