--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is original. Marcel Duchamp was an…" description: "\"“Art is original. Marcel Duchamp was an artist when he pioneered Dadaism and installed a urinal in a museum. The second person to install a urinal wasn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-original-marcel-duchamp-was-an-ar_2867328.png" --- # Art is original. Marcel Duchamp was an artist when he… ![“Art is original. Marcel Duchamp was an artist when he pioneered Dadaism and installed a urinal in a museum. The second person to install a urinal wasn't an artist, he was a plumber.” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-original-marcel-duchamp-was-an-ar_2867328.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-original-marcel-duchamp-was-an-ar_2867328.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-original-marcel-duchamp-was-an-ar_2867328.png) > ““Art is original. Marcel Duchamp was an artist when he pioneered Dadaism and installed a urinal in a museum. The second person to install a urinal wasn't an artist, he was a plumber.”” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Originality is defined by context and intent, not just novelty; the first act can be art, later similar acts may not. **In simple terms:** Original art depends on intent, not just being first. Key Takeaway Consider intent and context when judging originality. Themes creativity originality context Mood thoughtful analytical Type quote philosophical When to use this quote - museum installations - design innovation - creative entrepreneurship Key Concepts art theory cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What makes an act artistic? - How does context change perception? A Different Perspective Not all pioneering acts remain artistic over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Photographer Julian Wasser\] 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/) > [“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/) > [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. 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