Marcel Duchamp: Work and Life

Duchamp (1887-1968), the high priest of conceptual art, would have admired this high-concept book, which catalogues his mingling of the cultural high-brow and the quotidian. Readers can begin at either end of this double-faced volume. In one direction, glossy pages display superb photographs of a collection of Duchamp's works assembled for a recent exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Featured works include found objects--such as the famous urinal--as well as paintings, drawings and ingenious constructions. Interspersed throughout this section are passages reproduced from the artist's handwritten notes. Paging through from the other side of the book, one encounters a chronology of Duchamp's life and career, listing events both significant and mundane. Included in the middle section are indexes of works, exhibitions and a bibliography. The book will be prized by scholars and aficionados of modern art. Hulten is the chief curator of the Duchamp exhibition in Venice; Gough-Cooper and Caumont are Duchamp scholars. (Oct.)