--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Duchamp is known for calling a thing art…" description: "\"Duchamp is known for calling a thing art, rather than making it. A lot of that is picked up in pop art, too.\" — Claes Oldenburg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/claes-oldenburg-10596_art_duchamp-is-known-for-calling-a-thing-art_1139038.png" --- # Duchamp is known for calling a thing art, rather than… ![“Duchamp is known for calling a thing art, rather than making it. A lot of that is picked up in pop art, too.” quote by Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/claes-oldenburg-10596_art_duchamp-is-known-for-calling-a-thing-art_1139038.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/claes-oldenburg-10596_art_duchamp-is-known-for-calling-a-thing-art_1139038.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/claes-oldenburg-10596_art_duchamp-is-known-for-calling-a-thing-art_1139038.png) > “Duchamp is known for calling a thing art, rather than making it. A lot of that is picked up in pop art, too.” [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art can be defined by declaration rather than creation, influencing later movements like pop art. **In simple terms:** Naming can make something art. Key Takeaway Consider how labels shape perception. Themes art theory pop art conceptualism Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - public installations Key Concepts deconstruction semiotics cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How does a title affect your view of an object? - Can art exist without a physical form? A Different Perspective The impact of context may outweigh the object itself. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-making/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Pop art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pop-art/) ## Related quotes > [Mine was not pop art. I maybe started with a subject, but I changed the subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/mine-was-not-pop-art-i-maybe-started-with-a-subject-but-i-changed-the/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I started drawing comics, and at first I was very influenced by the whole pop art movement, you know, Batman was on TV and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trina-robbins/i-started-drawing-comics-and-at-first-i-was-very-influenced-by-the/) [Trina Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trina-robbins/) > [The first colour charts were unsystematic. They were based directly on commercial colour samples. They were still related to Pop Art. In the canvases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-first-colour-charts-were-unsystematic-they-were-based-directly-on/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Pop Art is not painting because painting must have content and emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-hartigan/pop-art-is-not-painting-because-painting-must-have-content-and-emotion/) [Grace Hartigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-hartigan/) > [As far as I'm concerned, there is no line between high art and pop art, and there should be no line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-there-is-no-line-between-high-art-and-pop-art/) [Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/) > [I'm definitely a pop artist at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-easton/i-m-definitely-a-pop-artist-at-heart/) [Sheena Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-easton/) > [What interests me is to paint the kind of antisensitivity that impregnates modern civilization. I think art since Cezanne has become extremely romantic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/what-interests-me-is-to-paint-the-kind-of-antisensitivity-that/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [When I hear the same formula being used over and over, I get bored. Just as huge pop artists have taken inspiration from things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-b/when-i-hear-the-same-formula-being-used-over-and-over-i-get-bored/) [Katy B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-b/) > [The pop artists did images that anybody walking down Broadway could recognize in a split second — comics, picnic tables, men’s trousers, celebrities, shower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/the-pop-artists-did-images-that-anybody-walking-down-broadway-could/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I think in daily newspapers, the way comic strips are treated, it's as if newspaper publishers are going out of their way to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/i-think-in-daily-newspapers-the-way-comic-strips-are-treated-it-s-as/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [I like adding little elements into the final mix. I'm more fond of the '70s glam than '80s. I have that style of vocals...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lambert/i-like-adding-little-elements-into-the-final-mix-i-m-more-fond-of-the/) [Adam Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lambert/) > [It is the transcendent (or 'abstract' or 'self-contained') nature of music that the new so called concretism--Pop Art, eighteen-hour slices-of-reality films, musique concrete--opposes. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/it-is-the-transcendent-or-abstract-or-self-contained-nature-of-music/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Only thanks to Pop Art, my painting has become understandable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domenico-gnoli/only-thanks-to-pop-art-my-painting-has-become-understandable/) [Domenico Gnoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domenico-gnoli/) > [I've worked with jazz artists, country artists, classical artists, pop artists. I never wanted there to be categories, because when I was a kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcknight/i-ve-worked-with-jazz-artists-country-artists-classical-artists-pop/) [Brian McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcknight/) > [ \[Photographer Julian Wasser\] had this great idea that I should play chess naked with Marcel Duchamp and it seem to be such a great… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-great-idea-that-i-should-play/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) ## More by Claes Oldenburg > [I had no idea what art was. There was one art class in high school, but it didn't make a big impression on me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-had-no-idea-what-art-was-there-was-one-art-class-in-high-school-but/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am an immigrant in a sense. What happened was that my father was stationed in New York when my mother became pregnant, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-an-immigrant-in-a-sense-what-happened-was-that-my-father-was/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [My mother warned me to avoid things colored red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-mother-warned-me-to-avoid-things-colored-red/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I started to draw buildings. I called them Proposed Colossal Monuments - they weren't for real, not for actual building. It was more a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-started-to-draw-buildings-i-called-them-proposed-colossal-monuments/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Food is like clay; you can sculpt with it. Also it has an odor, and you can eat it. I don't eat a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/food-is-like-clay-you-can-sculpt-with-it-also-it-has-an-odor-and-you/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am for an art that tells you the time of day, or where such and such a street is. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-tells-you-the-time-of-day-or-where-such-and-such/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. I'm better at drawing than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-all-i-could-remember-was-that/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [“I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-imitates-the-human-that-is-comic-if-necessary-or/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [The art world was very small and the people got together at parties. There was less commercialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/the-art-world-was-very-small-and-the-people-got-together-at-parties/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [A life cycle can be imposed on an object. An object can be very energetic and active, and then it has a dying phase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/a-life-cycle-can-be-imposed-on-an-object-an-object-can-be-very/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t-find-it-as-interesting-as-i/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Actually, New York is great for playing around. I made a lot of studies for New York-a big vacuum cleaner lying on the Battery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/actually-new-york-is-great-for-playing-around-i-made-a-lot-of-studies/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I'm always careful to say that I changed everything I found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-m-always-careful-to-say-that-i-changed-everything-i-found/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [If you really want to be an artist, you search yourself, and you find a lot of it comes from earlier times. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/if-you-really-want-to-be-an-artist-you-search-yourself-and-you-find-a/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [ My work doesn't have the same rules as, say, Andy \[Warhol\]'s work. But it's gathered together for the simple reason that we all worked… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-work-doesn-t-have-the-same-rules-as-say-andy-warhol-s-work-but-it/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) [Explore all 64 Claes Oldenburg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Duchamp is known for calling a thing art, rather than making it. 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