THE CONCEPT
The name Rotoreliefs refers to a series of work pieces with the same name by Marcel Duchamp, which were first shown at the opening of the 33rd Concours Lepine in the Paris of 1935. One of Duchamp's main concerns at the time was how to introduce movement into painting and in a joint venture with Henri Pierre Roche, Duchamp had taken a tiny stand of three square meters to exhibit Rotorelief: a 500 set of six coloured disks that were designed to be placed on a gramophone. When turning at a certain speed the disks, which were mounted on horizontal and vertical stands, gave an impression of depth. The Rotoreliefs provided a visual experience of moving objects, which were visual objects and machines at the same time. The idea was to present a piece of art which was not to be understood as a static object as paintings are, but rather a machine in action. Besides that some years before, in 1926, Duchamp had shot on film (Anémic Cinéma) some of the Rotoreliefs rotating, alternating them with phrases written on a spiral and he also added music that was to accompany the work on the screenings.