At the beginning of the 20th century, World War 1 had begun and with it came a new feeling for life and art. The question that had come about in life was, what exactly makes art.art? During each of the different artistic eras there are always transitional artists, those who lead the world into another direction. An example during the early 20th century is Marcel DuChamp (1887-1968). DuChamp spoke his mind and looked beyond the visual constraints that artists were placing on themselves at that time. Much like Picasso who led the Cubism movement, DuChamp was a leader of the surreal ready-made art. Ready-made art is the direct use of manufactured consumer products in art. DuChamp's most prominent and controversial piece was Fountain, a piece which gained disrespect from the general public, because it was not considered art. But Duchamp should be respected for his passion for art and his ability to stay unique despite the negative feedback he received. Because his style was developed in the early 1900s, it was revolutionary in testing people's views on what art is truly about.
Marcel Duchamp's evolution from ordinary to abstract began with the painting: Nude Descending the Staircase. The painting contains the different frames of a figure completing a motion, painted so abstractly that it illustrated movement in a way that other paintings at that time could not. The desire to show emotion through art that was found in Nude Descending the Stairs, leaked through into DuChamps next piece: his first ready-made, a wheel attached to a stool. This piece was the ejaculation of ready-made art that would soon lead to Fountain, which consisted of a porcelain urinal purchased from a local plumbing store and attached to a plank of wood, placing emphasis on the manufacturer's name: R.Mutt. The Fountain was one of the most controversial pieces of its time. Its simplistic, spontaneous process angered people because it was something that they believed they could have made themselves.