Marcel Duchamp Cast Alive

Marcel Duchamp rejected what he called "retinal art." Instead, he sought to put art back "in the service of the mind." To that end, he studied mathematics and physics, explored new theories about the fourth dimension, and conducted related experiments in his studio. Duchamp earned the title of chess master and published a treatise on the game in 1932. For him, chess was more beautiful and poetic than art. In the year before his death, the artist cast his right forearm, hand, and face in bronze. Here, he contemplates the last piece on the board: the knight.