Face-to-Face, from the National Portrait Gallery

"Portrait of Marcel Duchamp, 3 leads" by artist Brian O'Doherty, Face-to-Face talk


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With "Portrait of Marcel Duchamp, 3 leads," one of sixteen parts of his "Portrait of Marcel Duchamp," Brian O'Doherty sought to bring to life the images produced by the first three leads of Duchamp's electrocardiogram. On the front of the box he attached a carpenter's spirit level with three windows, each etched with an image of the line produced by one of the three leads. Inside, a cylindrical celluloid sleeve moves around a central light, but in reverse, suspending Duchamp in time and making him a living masterpiece. Duchamp spent considerable time looking at this piece at the Byron Gallery in New York City in 1966. Unknown to others, he was carrying a folded piece of paper secreted in a pocket inscribed with his now-famous epitaph, "Besides it is always the others who die." Recorded at NPG, June 25, 2009. Image info: Portrait of Marcel Duchamp, 3 leads / Brian O'Doherty (born 1928) / Wood, glass, Liquitex, motor, 1966 / Brian O'Doherty
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Face-to-Face, from the National Portrait GalleryBy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution