50 cc of Paris Air

Gallery 282, Modern and Contemporary Art, second floor (d’Harnoncourt Gallery)

Main Building

50 cc of Paris Air

1919

Marcel Duchamp (American (born France), 1887–1968)

Duchamp purchased this "empty" ampoule from a pharmacist in Paris as a souvenir for his close friend and patron, Walter C. Arensberg. A vial with nothing in it may be the most insubstantial "work of art" imaginable. From a molecular point of view, air is not considered nothing, but when displayed so carefully in an art museum it seems to be less than one might expect. Its precise meaning was rendered even more unstable in 1949, when the ampoule was accidentally broken and repaired, thus begging the question: Is the air even from Paris anymore?

Gallery 282, Modern and Contemporary Art, second floor (d’Harnoncourt Gallery)

Object Details

Title:

50 cc of Paris Air

Date:

1919

Artist:

Marcel Duchamp (American (born France), 1887–1968)

Medium:

Glass ampoule (broken and later restored)

Dimensions:

Height: 5 1/4 inches (13.3 cm) Diameter: 2 11/16 inches (6.8 cm)

Classification:

Sculpture

Credit Line:

The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950

Accession Number:

1950-134-78

Geography:

Made in Paris, France, Europe

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Gallery 282, Modern and Contemporary Art, second floor (d’Harnoncourt Gallery)

Main Building

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