Readymade artists took a commonplace object and basically put them on a pedestal, gallery, art space, and any environment that presented them as art. This allowed simple and extremely effective dialogue, as all art should have, in a way that encouraged the questioning of what constitutes ‘real’ work as an art form.

 

Readymade definitely gave the viewer the role of deciding what a piece of art was, and this could be done with observation and thought, which to some degree, is what art is truly about, when it encourages a wave of thinking and processing energy triggered by this creative stirrings on what constitutes art without overthinking the object or intent of the artist.

 

I decided to go further in my quest to explore and learn about Readymades and found that there can be an emotional impact of these art pieces and it takes the observational experience to a deeper level I selected my pieces for their very simple use of being water jugs, the black one especially being designed to be a very functional and life saving object by the manufactures of in México. There are actually about six factories that make water bottles specially designed for desert crossings. These are gallon jugs the size and shape of Clorox bottles. Several of these companies have started to sell their bottles made from black plastic so that they do not reflect light in the desert.

 

The fabric covered water jug is extremely fascinating as there is a thorn stuck into the crisscross stitching that adds another element of natural Readymade art by that actually becoming the piece within a piece. I found these Readymades in the Sonoran Desert, while volunteering with NoMoreDeaths, an organization that provides humanitarian aid to migrants.

 

Each water jug has been personalized by the migrant and left behind.

 

I felt these two were both personalized in such a way that heightened the experience of being a Readymade by encouraging an emotional response that is not only based on a physical observation but a trigger of the conscious and unconscious to process pain and beauty in a material object. This was my experience and therefore that elevated each piece to one of art. This personal observation helped me understand the indefinable Readymade art form as one that is created in the mind and projected outward to share with others as their own experience.