"I don't believe in art. I believe in artists. "

Marcel Duchamp

1916, New York. The French-American artist Marcel Duchamp is working on a new piece, Traveler’s Folding Item. Half plastic slipcover and half metal stand, it doesn’t seem particularly pliant or travel-friendly. In fact, it doesn’t look at all like it sounds.

Of course, looks can be deceiving. There’s something important hiding in this simple structure.

Marcel Duchamp, "Traveler’s Folding Item", 1916, plastic fabric, metal, 9.1 x 19.7 x 11.8 in., Centre Pompidou, Paris. © Marcel Duchamp / ADAGP 2017.
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Across the side of the black covering, the name Underwood is tattooed in gold. An American brand, Underwood is well known at the time, famous for its typewriters. For Duchamp, however, this name has another, much more personal meaning.

Advertisement for the Underwood typewriter, which appeared in the Official Newspaper of the French Republic in December 1932.
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Ok ok, we’ll spill the beans: Duchamp is seeing an American artist, Beatrice Wood. Traveler’s Folding Item, some suggest, is a reference to their romantic relationship. If that’s true, then "Underwood" starts to read a lot more like "under [Beatrice] Wood." A very cheeky play on words!

Photograph of Beatrice Wood.
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More than just a pun, this is one of Duchamp’s first readymades, artworks made from pre-fabricated, everyday objects. Simply by reusing these objects, Duchamp elevates them to the status of art.

Why does Duchamp choose these materials? He claims to want to introduce "softness in readymade." Here, the softness of the slipcover contrasts with the cold, metal pole. Could it be a reference to his lover’s touch?

Marcel Duchamp, "Bottlerack", originally created in 1914, galvanized iron, 19.6 x 16.1 in., Philadelphia Museum of Art. © Marcel Duchamp / ADAGP, 2017.
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In the words of the artist, "it’s the viewer that makes the work." People have the right to interpret Traveler’s Folding Item as they please—and to decide whether "Underwood" is a sassy shout-out, coincidence, or something else entirely…

Marcel Duchamp, "Fountain", 1917, white earthenware covered in ceramic glaze and paint, 24.8 x 18.9 x 13.8 in., Centre Pompidou, Paris. © Marcel Duchamp / ADAGP 2017.
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­Photograph of Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and Beatrice Wood, June 1917.
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WRITTEN BY

Queenie Tassell

APPROVED BY

Gérard Marié

Professor of Art History

QUIZ TIME

Which art form, invented by Duchamp, repurposes everyday, pre-existing objects?