Marcel Duchamp, the art of chess
By: Francis M. Naumann, Bradley Bailey ; with game analysis by Jennifer Shahade
Contributors: Bailey, Bradley; Shahade, Jennifer
Publisher: Readymade Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 133
ISBN-13: 9780980055627
Copyright date: 2009
Subjects: Knowledge and learning; Chess; Criticism and interpretation; Chess in art; Chess players
Description: "In the early 1920s a rumor circulated through the art worlds of Paris and New York that Marcel Duchamp - the artist best known for Nude Descending a Staircase, the sensation of the Armory Show of 1913 - had decided to stop making art in order to devote his life to playing chess. Although Duchamp made no effort to refute this claim, and had indeed entered into regular tournament play, he would never abandon his career as an artist. For the remaining years of his life, he sought opportunities to combine the two endeavors. Not only was the theme of chess an ever-present motif in his work - from his earliest paintings to works of his final decade - but on more than one occasion he buried coded messages in his art that could be fully comprehended only by proficient players of the game. He went so far as to suggest that the activity of playing chess be considered a component of his artistic expression. "I have come to the conclusion that while all artists are not chess players," he memorably remarked, "all chess players are artists." Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess is the first major study in the English language devoted to exploring how Duchamp's activities as a chess player affected his art."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: "Published on the occasion of the exhibitions: Marcel Duchamp: Chess Master, Saint Louis University Museum of Art, St. Louis, May 6-August 16, 2009; Marcel Duchamp: Chess Master, Francis M. Naumann Fine Art, September 10-October 30, 2009"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess  -- Francis M. Naumann; title: Passionate Pastimes Duchamp, Chess, and the Large Glass  -- Bradley Bailey; title: Game Analysis -- Jennifer Shahade.