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Art is Not Funny
64" x 68"
1990
Artist's Collection
This reunion of the dynamite da Vinci/Duchamp duo was inspired by study of the wonderful self-portrait drawing that Leonardo made as an old man. Why, I wondered, does he look so angry? Fate, of course, had provided him with a few reasons, including the physical destruction or disintegration of some of his most important works during his lifetime. Perhaps his spirit has somehow become aware of what has happened to art since his time, especially in the 20th century, when a nihilistic irony and disrespect for the achievements of the past have been rampant. Who would be the most likely target of his fury if not the Dadaist Duchamp, who had the boldness to draw a moustache on a poster of the Mona Lisa and write an indecent French pun beneath it? Any museum in town would find a spot in its lecture series for The Return of Leonardo, ready to show slides of irreverent modern work, condemn its frivolity, ,and argue for a return to sanity.
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