Water and Gas on Every Floor
or
Eau & gaz a tous les etages


Late Readymade
Original version, 1958
Original Version:

June-Sept. 1958, Paris
white lettering on blue enamel plate
facsimile of apartment house plate
imitated readymade
15 x 20 cm


This Readymade is a reproduction of the type of plates affixed to apartment houses in France in the early 1890s. A remarkably simple signature of "M.D." marks this Readymade and attests to a notably clear sense of authorship. This is refreshing in comparison to how much other Readymades complicate the notion of authorship. Water and Gas on Every Floor also plays with Duchamp's tendency to incorporate apartment and building references into his Readymades (ie. Door, 11 rue Larrey
Replica, 1958

Replica:
1)1958, Paris
Reproduction in slightly smaller scale (12.7 x 16.6 cm) in collotype and stencil. Made for lids of boxes in limited edition of Sur Marcel Duchamp by Robert Lebel, # 1-110

Replica, 1958


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