“Less than a year before his death, the American composer John Cage (1912–1992) proclaimed: “I can’t get along without Duchamp! I literally believe that Duchamp made it possible for us to live as we do.” In his film Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible, Matthew Taylor compellingly illustrates that Marcel Duchamp’s legacy is as profound and pertinent today as it was nearly eighty years ago, when Cage first met him. Relying on interviews with an international array of contemporary artists and scholars interwoven with archival photographs and documents, period film footage, and his own discriminating camerawork, Matthew Taylor offers a fascinating portrait of Duchamp not only as a brilliant, innovative thinker, but also as a captivating individual whose unique approach to both art and life continues to elicit wonderment.
Paul B. FranklinDuchamp scholar and editor in chief of Étant donné Marcel Duchamp
“To convey the complexity of Duchamp’s work in a way that is accessible and compelling to a larger audience while retaining the peculiar feeling and character that animates is not easy task. This film accomplishes that by choreographing an impressive array of interventions by historians, artist and writers, including many of those who have thought harder and longer about the life and work of the French artist. It is an enchanting key to his ever-mesmerizing work and an indispensable document attesting the international reception of his work. A must see.
Carlos BasualdoThe Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Senior Curator of Contemporary Art
“A truly remarkable film and an invaluable introduction for anyone interested in Marcel Duchamp’s radical work and ideas, as well as his legacy for artists working today.
Michael R. TaylorChief Curator and Deputy Director for Art and Education, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
“Many documentary films on Marcel Duchamp have been made, but this is the first to force viewers to do what his work achieves by its very nature: THINK. Individual works of art are presented in a roughly chronological sequence—from The Nude Descending a Staircase and Large Glass to the Boîte-en-valise and Étant donnés—asking questions that Duchamp scholars and artists attempt to answer, an unfolding narrative that replicates Duchamp’s dictum: a work of art is completed only when interpreted by the spectator.
Francis M. NaumannDuchamp Scholar
“This is definitely the best film on Duchamp that has been made.
Linda Dalrymple HendersonDavid Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professor in Art History, Department of Art and Art History, The University of Texas at Austin
“It is evident this film is made by an artist
Kornelia RöderSchwerin Museum, Germany
“The best possible introduction on why the Art world is the most changeling and interesting place to explore life at this time…the film is a great piece of art in itself!
Robert BermanRobert Berman Gallery