--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Photographer Julian Wasser] had this…" description: "\"[Photographer Julian Wasser] had this great idea that I should play chess naked with Marcel Duchamp and it seem to be such a great idea that it was jus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/eve-babitz-19835_art_photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-grea_14326.jpg" --- # \[Photographer Julian Wasser\] had this great idea that I… ![“[Photographer Julian Wasser] had this great idea that I should play chess naked with Marcel Duchamp and it seem to be such a great idea that it was just like the best idea I'd ever heard in my life. It was like a great idea. I mean, it was - Not only was it vengeance, it was art, and it was, like…” quote by Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/eve-babitz-19835_art_photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-grea_14326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/eve-babitz-19835_art_photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-grea_14326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/eve-babitz-19835_art_photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-grea_14326.jpg) > “\[Photographer Julian Wasser\] had this great idea that I should play chess naked with Marcel Duchamp and it seem to be such a great idea that it was just like the best idea I'd ever heard in my life. It was like a great idea. I mean, it was - Not only was it vengeance, it was art, and it was, like, a great idea. And even if it didn't get any vengeance, it would still turn out okay with me because, you know, I would be sort of immortalized.” [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker celebrates a provocative, absurd concept that blurs art, revenge, and personal legacy, suggesting that even without tangible outcomes, the act itself immortalizes the creator. **In simple terms:** A wild, artistic stunt that fuses chess, nudity, and Duchamp's legacy. Key Takeaway Art can be a self‑affirming act beyond its consequences. Themes Artistic rebellion Performance Legacy Absurdity Self‑expression Mood Playful Defiant Type Anecdotal Philosophical When to use this quote - A gallery opening - A private performance - A social media stunt Key Concepts Conceptual art Immortality through spectacle Practical Applications - Designing avant‑garde installations - Crafting memorable brand experiences Questions to Reflect On - What makes an artistic act valuable if it never achieves its intended effect? - Can provocation alone secure an artist’s legacy? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) [Great idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Vengeance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vengeance/) ## Related quotes > [I had thrown my body in for art... I had thrown myself into this game for art. You know, I was not a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/i-had-thrown-my-body-in-for-art-i-had-thrown-myself-into-this-game/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“Art should grasp the mind the way the vagina grasps the penis-Marcel Duchamp”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-goldfarb-marquis/art-should-grasp-the-mind-the-way-the-vagina-grasps-the-penis-marcel/) Alice Goldfarb Marquis > [“By shifting from the air to the ground, I sought to destroy any notion of scale as in Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp's Elevage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-ristelhueber/by-shifting-from-the-air-to-the-ground-i-sought-to-destroy-any-notion/) [Sophie Ristelhueber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-ristelhueber/) > [“Art is original. Marcel Duchamp was an artist when he pioneered Dadaism and installed a urinal in a museum. The second person to install…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-original-marcel-duchamp-was-an-artist-when-he-pioneered/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Marcel Duchamp, one of this century's pioneers, moved his work through the retinal boundaries which had been established with Impressionism into a field where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/marcel-duchamp-one-of-this-century-s-pioneers-moved-his-work-through/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [And then there is that one-man movement, Marcel Duchamp for me a truly modern movement because it implies that each artist can do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/and-then-there-is-that-one-man-movement-marcel-duchamp-for-me-a-truly/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [The second time I was there I met Marcel Duchamp, and we immediately fell for each other. Which doesn't mean a thing because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-wood/the-second-time-i-was-there-i-met-marcel-duchamp-and-we-immediately/) [Beatrice Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-wood/) > [“I don't want to be pinned down to any position. My position is the lack of a position, but of course you can't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-goldfarb-marquis/i-don-t-want-to-be-pinned-down-to-any-position-my-position-is-the/) Alice Goldfarb Marquis > [I didn't really know what I was looking at when I first came across Man Ray's 'Dust Breeding,' his photograph of a work by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-didn-t-really-know-what-i-was-looking-at-when-i-first-came-across/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-nothing-to-me-even-were-the-loo/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [“A painting that doesn't shock isn't worth painting-Marcel Duchamp”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-goldfarb-marquis/a-painting-that-doesn-t-shock-isn-t-worth-painting-marcel-duchamp/) Alice Goldfarb Marquis > [In my case, everything starts from Marcel Duchamp and the new expressive possibilities he gave us with his ready-mades. I transferred his artistic language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-abloh/in-my-case-everything-starts-from-marcel-duchamp-and-the-new/) [Virgil Abloh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-abloh/) > [You know, also I, you know, I was on those birth control pills and my breasts were like, they hurt... and, you know, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/you-know-also-i-you-know-i-was-on-those-birth-control-pills-and-my/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [Of course at that time, especially here in America, we were dealing with women's liberation. Things weren't so easy then. Méret Oppenheim wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-horn/of-course-at-that-time-especially-here-in-america-we-were-dealing/) [Rebecca Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-horn/) > [Damien Hirst is the Elvis of the English art world, its ayatollah, deliverer, and big-thinking entrepreneurial potty-mouthed prophet and front man. Hirst synthesizes punk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/damien-hirst-is-the-elvis-of-the-english-art-world-its-ayatollah/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## More by Eve Babitz > [It's the frames which make some things important and some things forgotten. It's all only frames from which the content rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/it-s-the-frames-which-make-some-things-important-and-some-things/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“It made her question why human beings always appeared to be coming along so nicely as a whole when the bottom would fall out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/it-made-her-question-why-human-beings-always-appeared-to-be-coming/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“Secrets are lies that you tell to your friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/secrets-are-lies-that-you-tell-to-your-friends/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“Everyone knew the way to dance was like black people did and they all danced that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/everyone-knew-the-way-to-dance-was-like-black-people-did-and-they-all/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [By the time I'd grown up, I naturally supposed that I'd grown up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/by-the-time-i-d-grown-up-i-naturally-supposed-that-i-d-grown-up/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“Two days before she went to New York, Jacaranda stopped drinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/two-days-before-she-went-to-new-york-jacaranda-stopped-drinking/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“She discovered what most writers insist is true nowadays, which is that they can only write for three hours a day at the most,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/she-discovered-what-most-writers-insist-is-true-nowadays-which-is/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“The two girls grew up at the edge of the ocean and knew it was paradise, and better than Eden, which was only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/the-two-girls-grew-up-at-the-edge-of-the-ocean-and-knew-it-was/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [It was all balance. But then, she already knew that from surfing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/it-was-all-balance-but-then-she-already-knew-that-from-surfing/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“Jacaranda believed that in the world of airplanes there were only two kinds of luggage—carry-on or lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/jacaranda-believed-that-in-the-world-of-airplanes-there-were-only-two/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [There are three basic personality factors in cats: The kind who run up when you say hello and rub against you in cheap romance;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/there-are-three-basic-personality-factors-in-cats-the-kind-who-run-up/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [“She brought fresh flowers in from the tumbling-down hill where her landlady threw handfuls of wildflower seeds each spring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/she-brought-fresh-flowers-in-from-the-tumbling-down-hill-where-her/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [There are only three things to say about cocaine. 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