--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My idea was to chose an object that…" description: "\"My idea was to chose an object that wouldn't attract me, either by its beauty or by its ugliness. To find a point of indifference in my looking at it, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-duchamp-2390_beauty_my-idea-was-to-chose-an-object-that-woul_3050960.jpg" --- # My idea was to chose an object that wouldn't attract me… ![“My idea was to chose an object that wouldn't attract me, either by its beauty or by its ugliness. To find a point of indifference in my looking at it, you see” quote by Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-duchamp-2390_beauty_my-idea-was-to-chose-an-object-that-woul_3050960.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-duchamp-2390_beauty_my-idea-was-to-chose-an-object-that-woul_3050960.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/marcel-duchamp-2390_beauty_my-idea-was-to-chose-an-object-that-woul_3050960.jpg) > “My idea was to chose an object that wouldn't attract me, either by its beauty or by its ugliness. To find a point of indifference in my looking at it, you see” [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. Choosing an object without strong aesthetic appeal allows focus on its conceptual significance rather than visual judgment. **In simple terms:** Select neutral objects to highlight ideas over appearance. Key Takeaway Use indifferent items to explore deeper meaning. Themes art perception conceptualism neutrality Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery curation - design brainstorming - educational workshops - product prototyping Key Concepts aesthetics semiotics objecthood Questions to Reflect On - How does removing aesthetic bias change interpretation? - Can neutral objects provoke stronger reactions than beautiful ones? A Different Perspective Relying on neutrality may limit emotional engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness/) ## Related quotes > [If a night-moth were to concentrate its will on flying to a star or some equally unattainable object, it wouldn't succeed. Only, it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/if-a-night-moth-were-to-concentrate-its-will-on-flying-to-a-star-or/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The opposite of faith is not heresy but indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-opposite-of-faith-is-not-heresy-but-indifference/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [You have to approach something with indifference, as if you had no aesthetic emotion. The choice of readymades is always based on visual indifference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/you-have-to-approach-something-with-indifference-as-if-you-had-no/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Home is where I can look ugly and enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhat/home-is-where-i-can-look-ugly-and-enjoy-it/) [Zhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhat/) > [“Every person sees the world through lenses of his or her own design—individual goggles that alter focus and perspective as desired. For those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/every-person-sees-the-world-through-lenses-of-his-or-her-own-design/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Art is a course in personal development that has no reliable diploma and no known end. The pursuit of art instructs in beauty as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/art-is-a-course-in-personal-development-that-has-no-reliable-diploma/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [It's impossible for a creative artist to be either a Puritan or a Fascist, because both are a negation of the creative urge. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-o-flaherty/it-s-impossible-for-a-creative-artist-to-be-either-a-puritan-or-a/) [Liam O'Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-o-flaherty/) > [“that God gives us the ugliness so we don’t take the beautiful things in life for granted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/that-god-gives-us-the-ugliness-so-we-don-t-take-the-beautiful-things/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [Even so, I was proud of myself for taking action at all. I didn't hide or run away or pretend the ugliness didn't happen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/even-so-i-was-proud-of-myself-for-taking-action-at-all-i-didn-t-hide/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [Violence never quashed violence because if you're equipped to do violence then you'll continue that passage. 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So do crassness, ignorance, dumbness!...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/beauty-and-ugliness-are-only-possible-in-the-light-common-sense-also/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Those who do not know what love is likens it to beauty Those who claim to know what love is likens it to ugliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/those-who-do-not-know-what-love-is-likens-it-to-beauty-those-who/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [Oh, dear Hazel.” Aphrodite folded her fan. “Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. Love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/oh-dear-hazel-aphrodite-folded-her-fan-such-optimism-yet-you-have/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) ## 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. 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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 Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. 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