Marc Latamie - A Look at Marcel Duchamp

Primarily based in New York City, artist Marc Latamie utilizes the theme of universalism in most of his works. One of his strongest influences is Marcel Duchamp; Marc Latamie had lectured on Duchamp works at the Cooper Union School for the Arts and at New York University and contribueted to the online journal dedicated to the research on Duchamp..

Born in 1887 in France, Marcel Duchamp became one of the most influenced artists of the 20th century. Called a “one-man movement” by Willem de Kooning, Duchamp developed a counter-field from his contemporaries by approaching the mental rather than the visual aspects of art. During the first part of his career, he experimented with then-popular styles such as impressionism and cubism. His 1912 Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) used the cubist style to present his subject in motion rather than the traditional static image. Arguably his most famous painting, it initially received negative reviews in Paris, where the work was banned from the important Salon d'Automne.

Following this period, Marcel Duchamp introduced the “readymade,” perhaps his most lasting legacy. Abandoning painting in the years before World War I, Duchamp utilized everyday objects as art. He placed mass-produced pieces such as bicycle wheels, shovels, and windows on display to challenge conceptions of art and beauty. Despite being considered a pioneer with the Dada movement, Duchamp became also a master on playing chess. He passed away in 1968.

Marc Latamie - Exploring French and Martinique Identity with “Muses”

Originally from Martinique in the Caribbean, artist Marc Latamie has lived in Paris and New York since the early 1970s, and pursued a career that will be later on influenced by conceptual artists such as Marcel Duchamp. In 2012, Marc Latamie created an installation as part of the Americas Society’s “For Rent” series that was set up in the historic McKim, Mead and White building in Manhattan. The exhibition was undertaken in tandem with curators Theodora Doulamis and Christina de Leon.

As described in an ArtNexus article, the installation provides an elegant and unexpected narrative on the connection and separation between Martinique and France. The exhibition juxtaposed three “muses” in exploring these strands of identity, including Adrienne “Ady” Fidelin, a native of Guadeloupe who became Man Ray’s model and muse, and was a strong presence in the Parisian art scene for decades. Another muse is Lumina Sophie aka "Surprise", a woman who played a vital role in Martinique’s insurgency of the late 19th century and will be considered a national hero. Le Salon (de) Surprise displays a selection of Paul Gauguin Andre Masson and Henri Matisse prints, rendition of Martinique since all of these artists visited Martinique. In addition were selected an important Man Ray painting and several photographs of Ady by Man Ray, borrowed from private collections. Ady was a dynamic woman who is said to have inspired Man Ray to learn Creole in the 1930s. A main segment in the exhibit involves a recreation of a distillery of absinthe (the third muse) and explores a liquor that was introduced to Martinique at the time of French authoritative controlled of Martinique.