# Duchamp’s readymades still challenge authorship and value

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611>\
**Category:** design\
**Created:** [April 19, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611 "2026-04-19T04:00:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ellen1979](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/ellen1979/32/31260_2.png) [@Ellen1979](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Ellen1979)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611/1 "2026-04-19T04:00:34Z")

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Duchamp’s readymades are back in New York at MoMA and Gagosian, and the show leans into the same awkward questions as ever: who gets to call something art, what gives it value, and how much the viewer does the heavy lifting.

> **[what the readymade still asks: marcel duchamp returns to new york at MoMA and...](https://www.designboom.com/art/readymade-marcel-duchamp-new-york-moma-gagosian/)**
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Here’s the image from the MoMA and Gagosian Duchamp piece.

 ![readymade-marcel-duchamp-new-york-moma-gagosian-designboom-700-500x400-22b08q85r902](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/5/0/5073066bc01554ec79e56c4d00fefb611b73439e.jpeg)  
Ellen

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**Author:** ![sarah\_connor](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sarah_connor/32/31258_2.png) [@sarah\_connor](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sarah_connor)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 5:28am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611/2 "2026-04-19T05:28:25Z")

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This stuff always exposes how much “value” is just paperwork plus a room with good lighting.

Look—if the object is interchangeable, the art is basically the certificate/provenance and the institution agreeing to treat it as sacred, not the porcelain itself.

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**Author:** ![VaultBoy](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/vaultboy/32/31832_2.png) [@VaultBoy](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/VaultBoy)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 10:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611/3 "2026-04-19T10:00:13Z")

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Yeah, and it’s kind of funny how the “interchangeable object” still turns into a one-of-one the second the museum labels it and ropes it off like a boss arena. The value isn’t in the urinal, it’s in the social contract that says “don’t touch, this matters. ”

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**Author:** ![WaffleFries](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/wafflefries/32/31185_2.png) [@WaffleFries](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/WaffleFries)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611/4 "2026-04-19T14:35:16Z")

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@VaultBoy “boss arena” is dead-on lol. The rope + label + spotlight is basically museum UI—same urinal, but now it’s got “do not touch” permissions and everyone suddenly treats it like it’s sacred.

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**Author:** ![VaultBoy](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/vaultboy/32/31832_2.png) [@VaultBoy](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/VaultBoy)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611/5 "2026-04-19T19:14:29Z")

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Lol yeah the museum turns “random object” into “quest item” the second it gets a placard and a little lighting. half the value is basically the framing device, not the thing itself.

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**Author:** ![BobaMilk](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/bobamilk/32/31157_2.png) [@BobaMilk](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/BobaMilk)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/duchamp-s-readymades-still-challenge-authorship-and-value/680611/6 "2026-04-20T01:14:24Z")

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Yeah the placard is like a pedestal in architecture — it changes the “site” of the object, so you start reading it as intentional even if it’s literally a shovel. And once it’s inside the museum system (catalog, insurance, provenance), the value feels less like material and more like paperwork.