Duchamp's Chess Obsession: A Show, A Book, and More

In it, Naumann argues that Duchamp's life proceeded as if it were a chess game: opening, middle game, endgame. And not by happenstance. Rather, Duchamp orchestrated his life that way. Bradley Bailey, the curator/assistant professor at St Louis University (Duchamp's Chess Identity is the title of his dissertation), asserts that Duchamp's art and his chess are so intertwined, aesthetically and conceptually, that they can not be separated -- especially in his iconic work The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors. The book's art images and photos are terrific.

The book also includes expert analysis of 15 of Duchamp's chess game by Jennifer Shahade, a chess champion/writer. She recently posted on her website a video, Naked Chess, inspired by Duchamp's game with a naked woman (a picture of which is in the book).

As she writes:

One great thing about playing against a naked man in chess is that there are no pockets for electronic devices, so you can be absolutely sure he is not cheating.

Here's a link to her site.

Naumann, Bradley and Shahade have made much more of their Duchamp studies than the usual exhibition and book. They've made it participatory and fun. If you're a chess player, you can join in animated Duchamp chess games by going to Francis Naumann's website, and clicking on the chess icon shown at left. 

(And while you're there, take a look at the works currently on view, by a little-known American surrealist named Leon Kelly.)

Photo Credits: Archives of American Art (top); Francis M. Naumann Fine Art (bottom).