Ai Weiwei on the Legacy of Marcel Duchamp

“From his influence I liberate myself.” Ai Weiwei reflects on the impact of the boundary-breaking artist Marcel Duchamp.
Born in Beijing in 1957, Ai Weiwei is recognized around the world as a creative force and cultural commentator. For nearly three decades, he has redefined the role of both artist and activist.
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) is arguably the most influential artist of the modern era. Duchamp experimented with Dadaism, Cubism, Surrealism, Op art and film, inventing the readymade, and paving the way for Pop, Conceptualism, and Minimalism. His artwork and ideas forever changed the artworld, and to some degree the world as a whole, in ways that we are still discovering. Global artists freely acknowledge that his work influences their artmaking. Inspired by Barbara and Aaron Levine’s promised gift of more than 35 works by Duchamp, the Hirshhorn invited artists to respond to the impact of this pioneer.
This video series is presented with “Marcel Duchamp: The Barbara and Aaron Levine Collection” and “It’s Art If I Say So: The Legacy of Marcel Duchamp in the Hirshhorn Collection.”

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Whether it be rappers, chefs, actors, comedians...I love to hear artists talking about other artists.