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Theory of Appropriation According to Duchamp and Mono-ha : Via the Concepts of Art Coefficient and Inframince
The Journal of Aesthetics and Science of Art
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Marcel Duchamp fully embraced the role appropriation played in the artistic process before his first undertaking of the ready-made method in 1914, going as far as stating that the entire artistic process consists, in essence, of combining ready-made elements. Almost half a century later came the advent of a more radical notion of appropriation forged by Mono-ha in Japan. The Mono-ha artists attempted to strip appropriated objects of any purpose of expressing premeditated ideas by limiting the scope of signification of their intention to purely (or merely) abandoning the chosen object as it exists in the field of perception. They recognized and shared the very problem of the fundamental condition posed by what Duchamp called the “art coefficient.” This article will first explain Duchamp's attempts to rethink and overcome the art coefficient through ready-made experiments via his famous notion of inframince, followed by the main inquiry into Mono-ha’s solution to Duchamp's limits.
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