Art by Committee
Online art project

An experiment in the use of the internet and social networking as a device for directing a participatory art project.

I have devised a set of 10 online polls that will decide defining elements of a final piece called 'Art by Committee'. The polls will close March 7th 2010, whereupon work will start on producing the final piece using the most popular choices from the 10 online polls to direct the final work.

The project is influenced by the principles of Marcel Duchamp who, in 1917, created 'Fountain' (a urinal positioned 90 degrees from its normal position of use) which became a major landmark in 20th century art. Duchamp envisaged 'Fountain' - a ready-made object - as the product of an aesthetically provocative act, one that denied the importance of taste and which questioned the meaning of art itself. According to Duchamp, the artist’s CHOICE of a ready-made should be governed not by the beauty of the object but by his indifference towards it; to these ends it could be selected by CHANCE methods, for example by a predetermined weight or at a predetermined time.

Please take time to fill in the 10 polls listed below, you will be able to see the most popular choices after you have voted. You can only vote once so make your vote count.

© Patrick Murphy 2009