boite-en-valise

The Marcel Duchamp "Boite-en-valise" film clip from the Portland Art Museum was an interesting inside view of the piece. Duchamp created the first of these "exhibits in a box" with the notion of preserving his work so it did not become lost to history. In all, there were 100 such kits made in the "Red Version" alone. (Other versions included the green, tan, and leather versions. Duchamp selected several pieces of work for these mini exhibits. The works were mechanically reproduced in miniature, and included a reproduction of Nude Descending Staircase and the infamous urinal. The valise reminds me of a picture postcard that shows several views of the tourist destination. I found it charming, if a bit egotistic, but as a result, we have a fascinating little collection that would otherwise not be accessible to us. It makes sense that the PAM opted to locate it in the 1960's era, the era in which many of them were packaged up from Duchamp's stockpile of reproductions, rather than in the time frame of when the originals were created. One phrase that sticks with me from the clip is that the valise is a "surrogate for the experience." Indeed, we know we are not viewing the original works but the offspring which came about from his own thoughts.