Trébuchet
Artist
Marcel Duchamp
(French, 1887-1968, active in Paris and New York)
Date1917; 1964 edition
MediumWood and metal
DimensionsOverall: 7 3/8 x 39 3/8 x 4 7/8 in. (18.7 x 100 x 12.4 cm)
Support (Base): 7/8 × 39 3/8 × 4 3/4 in. (2.2 × 100 × 12 cm)
Support (Base): 7/8 × 39 3/8 × 4 3/4 in. (2.2 × 100 × 12 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of Mary Sisler Foundation, 1978
Object numberMF78.7
Marcel Duchamp was the foremost artist in the movement called Dada. He caused a scandal in 1917 by exhibiting a urinal as a work of art at the Society of Independent Artists. The coat rack in Trap exemplifies this strategy of exhibiting "readymades," or found objects, as artworks. By placing the coat rack on the floor instead of on the wall, he subverts the object's usual function. Trap thereby reverses the natural order of things such as gravity and physical space. Duchamp creates an illusion that many viewers find troubling and vertiginous.
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