--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can works be made which are not 'of art'?" description: "\"Can works be made which are not 'of art'?\" — Marcel Duchamp" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art-1_1808435.jpg" --- # Can works be made which are not 'of art'? ![“Can works be made which are not 'of art'?” quote by Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art-1_1808435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art-1_1808435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art-1_1808435.jpg) > “Can works be made which are not 'of art'?” [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Duchamp questions whether objects not intended as art can be considered art, challenging traditional definitions. **In simple terms:** Art can exist beyond traditional intent Key Takeaway Question artistic boundaries Themes art definition creativity Mood provocative inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - gallery curation - public installations - digital media - education Key Concepts Aesthetic theory institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - Is intention essential for something to be art? - How do institutions shape artistic value? A Different Perspective Art may be defined by context, not just creator intent ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/works-of-art-make-rules-rules-do-not-make-works-of-art/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) > [Can one make works which are not works of 'art'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/can-one-make-works-which-are-not-works-of-art/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I love making up visual works of art in language. I get to be an artist without actually being an artist in that sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-making-up-visual-works-of-art-in-language-i-get-to-be-an/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [All works of art should begin... at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/all-works-of-art-should-begin-at-the-end/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We're all works of art in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dell-orefice/we-re-all-works-of-art-in-progress/) [Carmen Dell'Orefice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dell-orefice/) > [But of works of art little can be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/but-of-works-of-art-little-can-be-said/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Works of art inspire me to compose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-penderecki/works-of-art-inspire-me-to-compose/) [Krzysztof Penderecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-penderecki/) > [Leo's goals are works of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rijkaard/leo-s-goals-are-works-of-art/) [Frank Rijkaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rijkaard/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/works-of-art-in-my-opinion-are-the-only-objects-in-the-material/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“...an acquaintance with the great works of art and thought is the only real insurance against the barbarism of the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/an-acquaintance-with-the-great-works-of-art-and-thought-is-the-only/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [Beauty is not the purpose of creation, it is its reward. Its appearance, often late in the day, is no more than an indication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brassai/beauty-is-not-the-purpose-of-creation-it-is-its-reward-its-appearance/) [Brassai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brassai/) > [“Hence Proust’s assertion that the greatness of works of art has nothing to do with the apparent quality of their subject matter, and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/hence-proust-s-assertion-that-the-greatness-of-works-of-art-has/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“...the special quality of works of Art being to produce the momentary conviction that anything else whatever could not possibly be so good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-p-shiel/the-special-quality-of-works-of-art-being-to-produce-the-momentary/) [M.P. Shiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-p-shiel/) > [They are works of art that can be considered works of art but don't have to be in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heizer/they-are-works-of-art-that-can-be-considered-works-of-art-but-don-t/) [Michael Heizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heizer/) ## More by Marcel Duchamp > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Humor is the only reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/humor-is-the-only-reason-to-live/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-creative-act-is-not-performed-by-the-artist-alone-the-spectator/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I believe that the artist doesn't know what he does. I attach even more importance to the spectator than to the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-believe-that-the-artist-doesn-t-know-what-he-does-i-attach-even/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Living is more a question of what one spends than what one makes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/living-is-more-a-question-of-what-one-spends-than-what-one-makes/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Rational intelligence is dangerous and leads to ratiocination. The painter is a medium who doesn't realize what he is doing. No translation can express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/rational-intelligence-is-dangerous-and-leads-to-ratiocination-the/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Everything important that I have done can be put into a little suitcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/everything-important-that-i-have-done-can-be-put-into-a-little/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [As soon as we start putting our thoughts into words and sentences everything gets distorted, language is just no damn good—I use it because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/as-soon-as-we-start-putting-our-thoughts-into-words-and-sentences/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The basis for my own work during the years just before coming to America in 1915 was a desire to break up forms -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-basis-for-my-own-work-during-the-years-just-before-coming-to/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The curious thing about that moustache and goatee is that when you look at the Mona Lisa it becomes a man. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-curious-thing-about-that-moustache-and-goatee-is-that-when-you/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I am afraid to end up being in need to sell canvases - in other words, to be a society painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-am-afraid-to-end-up-being-in-need-to-sell-canvases-in-other-words/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [In the midst of each epoch, I fully realize that a new epoch will dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/in-the-midst-of-each-epoch-i-fully-realize-that-a-new-epoch-will-dawn/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [To all appearances the artist acts like a mediumistic being who, from the labyrinth beyond time and space, seeks his way out to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/to-all-appearances-the-artist-acts-like-a-mediumistic-being-who-from/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Words such as truth, art, veracity, or anything are stupid in themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/words-such-as-truth-art-veracity-or-anything-are-stupid-in-themselves/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) [Explore all 169 Marcel Duchamp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## 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": "Can works be made which are not 'of art'?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcel Duchamp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art-1_1808435.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art-1_1808435.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art-1_1808435.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can works be made which are not 'of art'?” — Marcel Duchamp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marcel Duchamp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can works be made which are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/can-works-be-made-which-are-not-of-art/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```