Abstract:

The relationship between readymades and contemporary art holds further interpretative significance. By examining the historical trajectory of readymades entering art history in various ways, Peter Bürger’s observation can be accepted: that the readymade experiments represented by Duchamp, through the production of concepts, challenged bourgeois autonomous aesthetic principles. However, this attack was later assimilated by the bourgeois art system. Yet, Bürger’s conclusion that once readymades become institutionalized, their ideological critique loses its effectiveness is questionable. Drawing on Boris Groys’art theory and analyzing the actual functional role of readymades within museums, one can observe that readymades, as an external force residing within the institution, prompt a certain self-reflective mechanism within museums. In turn, this preserves the politically critical potential of readymades while also driving the artistic system toward continuous innovation.