Readymade

A readymade is a piece of found art that requires no additional work to become art. The canonical example is Marcel Duchamp's Fountain -- a porcelain urinal signed "R. Mutt".

Concept pioneered by Marcel Duchamp, also employed by May Ray and Francis Picabia. Uses an everyday, mass-produced object, selected by an artist with a creative or thought-provoking purpose. A Readymade is different from Found Objects in that it is usually modified.

Examples include:

• Fountain
• L.H.O.O.Q.
• bicycle wheel
• "In Advance of a Broken Arm"
• Traveler's Folding Item
• Bottle Rack
• 50cc of Paris Air

Sources:
Motherwell, Robert "The Dada Painters and Poets: An Anthology", Harvard University Press, 1951
Rubin, William S., "Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage", Museum of Modern Art, NY, 1968.
Last Updated 02.06.03

Many artists have used ready-made media to create art, most notably those in the Abstract and Pop Art movements. Some famous artists who gained their status using ready-made media are Jean-Michel Basquiat (everything he created), Marcel Duchamp (Fountain), and of course, the infamous Andy Warhol (100 Campbell's Soup Cans).