Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp, Rotoreliefs, 1935/1953/1959

Marcel Duchamp’s experiments with optical-kinetic effects in the early 1920s and his theorization of the “creative act” as a collaboration between the artist and the spectator were important precursors to Daniel Spoerri’s own conception of the kinetic multiple. Duchamp contributed to Edition MAT a group of unsold objects from his earlier editioned Rotoreliefs (1935). Each set of Rotoreliefs consists of six cardboard disks printed on both sides with colorful spiral patterns. Duchamp had intended them as “play toys” for spinning on the turntable of a home phonograph. When the cards are set in motion, the spirals appear to contract and expand, creating an impression of deep space rhythmically receding and projecting. The illusion is dependent not only upon the spinning motion of the discs but also the perceptual phenomena experienced by the viewer.

Image credit

Marcel Duchamp (American, b. France, 1887–1969), Rotoreliefs, 1935/1953/1959. 12 offset lithographs on 6 cardboard disks, velvet-covered board, and electric motor, 30/100, 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 4 1/8 in. (40 x 40 x 10.5 cm). Published by Edition MAT, Paris. Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Germany. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Photo © Kunstmuseen Krefeld–Volker Döhne–ARTOTHEK.