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For the original version, 1919, Duchamp had a Paris pharmacist empty an ampule of serum, thus opening it to the air, and then reseal the glass, hence its title: 50ccs of Paris Air. Duchamp took it to New York where he gave it as a gift to his friend and patron Walter Arensberg. The ampule was accidentally broken in 1949. It was repaired and is now on display in the Duchamp Rooms at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
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| The second version,
1941, is a scaled-down variant for Duchamp’s Boîte en Valise,
a leather travel case containing miniature replicas, photographs and
color reproductions of works by Duchamp in an edition of 20 with minor
variations among the sets. The miniature Paris Air ampule was ordered
from Labatoire Obled glass blowers located close to Duchamp's Paris
studio. The third version, 1949, was made to replace the broken original. Duchamp asked his friend, the writer Henri Pierre Roché, to visit the same pharmacy and send him another emptied and resealed ampule to resemble the original. |
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| The fourth version, 1964, is from an edition of eight replica ampules and four proofs, inscribed by Marcel Duchamp and published by Arturo Schwarz Gallerie, Milan. Duchamp spoke of Paris Air as the last of his readymades (found objects that become artworks for having been selected by the artist). Here, in its gallery treatment, the ampule is demonstrably an artwork in the traditional sense of a fine object that can be replicated, editioned and published. | ||
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Four
Versions of 50ccs of Paris Air |
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