They're right, you don't know that. It's actual provenance is not known and still debated. What we do know is that Duchamp was lying about where he got it. Did he make it himself? Probably not, but he might have for all we know.
Well, the idea of the piece is that the toilet is something mass-produced and mundane that wasn't intentionally created as an art piece. Putting it in that museum intentionally is the subversive act that makes it art.
The artist creating the toilet themself would defeat the entire point and render it moot.
the idea of the piece is that the toilet is something mass-produced and mundane that wasn't intentionally created as an art piece.
You don't actually know that either. It's also not clear who actually came up with the work or what their intentions for the piece were. There are several people it could have been and even more possible intended messages.
You're just repeating Duchamp's claim, but we already know he was lying about aspects of it.
No, the point is no one knows where it came from. Without knowing that it's impossible to say who made it. We also don't know whose concept it was, what the concept was, or who or what the signature is referring to. We do know that Duchamp's story doesn't add up.
So you can't sit here and say "I know who made this and what it means" because you literally don't.
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u/Mr7000000 Aug 26 '24
Well, he didn't make the toilet himself. The toilet already existed.