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Manual of Instructions for the assembly of Étant donnés: 1° la chute d'eau, 2° le gaz d'éclairage

1966
Marcel Duchamp (American (born France), 1887–1968)
The second and final Manual of Instructions for the assembly of Étant donnés was prepared by Duchamp in 1966 to direct the work's eventual move to the Philadelphia Museum of Art after his death. Although the Manual is not intended to decipher or explain Étant donnés, its unexpected conjunctions of word and image, startling photocollages, and delicate drawings in graphite and colored inks transcend the notebook's practical purpose. In doing so, the Manual provides a wealth of detail concerning Duchamp's laborious construction of the tableau assemblage, as well as its history and evolution.

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