Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess by Bradley Bailey and Francis M. Naumann
Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess by Bradley Bailey and Francis M. Naumann
Authors Bradley Bailey and Francis M. Naumann examine artist Marcel Duchamp’s fervent and continued interest in the game of chess, with game analysis by Jennifer Shahade.
Hardback, 135 pages
Published by readymade press, 2009
Marcel Duchamp was both an artist and a chess player, but until now, little was known of his chess activities. In analyzing Duchamp's games--seeing how he reacted in specific situations during play--we can better understand how his mind worked, and gain insight into the strategies that motivated his work as an artist. Duchamp saw a correlation between art and chess, and actively sought opportunities to combine the two seemingly unrelated disciplines. Not only did he love the game, but he was aware of the reputation of chess as an intensely cerebral pursuit, and to the end of his life, he remained committed to challenging the French adage "d'être bête comme un peintre" ("to be stupid like a painter"), raising his art to equivalently complex, intellectual heights. Naumann shows us just how deeply intertwined the two activities were for Duchamp.