# A little art quiz...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 21, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471 "2003-02-21T03:30:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Adam\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Adam\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adam_P)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471/1 "2003-02-21T03:30:57Z")

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Here’s a toughie. What is the largest Duchamp in existence, a piece he created in the 1930s and is impossible to house in any museum?

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**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471/2 "2003-02-21T16:37:26Z")

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Just a guess, but based on what I know of Duchamp, I’d say…

The earth?

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**Author:** ![Adam\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Adam\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adam_P)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471/3 "2003-02-21T20:26:47Z")

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Close. Apparently, you’re the only one who gives a shit but here’s the answer anyway:

The Woolworth building here in NYC which Duchamp declared a readymade and so “created” in the 1930s.

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**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471/4 "2003-02-21T20:49:19Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by photopat \*  
> \*\*Just a guess, but based on what I know of Duchamp, I’d say…
> 
> The earth? \*\*

I don’t know if Duchamp tried that, but Pierro Manozini (the same artists who infamously canned his feces) did. Manzoni put a large, upside-down base on the ground, making the earth a giant piece of sculpture.

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**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471/5 "2003-02-21T20:52:01Z")

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Note to self: Google first and at least get the name spelled right:

[http://home.sprynet.com/~mindweb/page16.htm](http://home.sprynet.com/~mindweb/page16.htm)

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**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-art-quiz/156471/6 "2003-02-21T21:52:46Z")

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Is there a plaque anywhere in the Woolworth building commemorating its “creation” by Duchamp?