Explorations in Aesthetics: Duchamp’s Readymades, Warhol’s »Brillo Box«, and the Concept of Art

The focus of the present work is the art status of Duchamp’s Readymades and Warhol’s Brillo Box, and the claim that these works, because of their singular radicality, have initiated artistic and conceptual revolutions thereby changing the concept of art. The two first parts of the book are devoted to an analysis of the philosophical and art theoretical discourses these iconic works have engendered. Particular attention is paid to controversies concerning the interpretation and the significance of the works in question. In Part One, Thierry de Duve’s theory of art is discussed at some length. In Part Two, the focus is on Arthur Danto’s philosophy of art, inspired as it is by Warhol’s work. In Part Three, the philosophical debates concerning the definability of art are at the centre of attention. Some recent definitional proposals as well as criticisms of the definitional project are highlighted. In particular, Danto’s essentialist project is contrasted with Wittgenstein-inspired family resemblance approaches.