Play and Understanding

The Influence of Henri Poincaré and Henri Bergson on the Art of Marcel Duchamp

Abstract

 This article explores the significance of the concept of play in the formation of Marcel Duchamp’s art, examined through the influence of two thinkers whose writings he studied: the mathematician Henri Poincaré and the philosopher Henri Bergson. By analyzing Duchamp’s work through the theoretical framework of play, the article illuminates anew his approach to conventions and his engagement with processes of understanding. The first part discusses the meaning of play as a concept in art more broadly and in Duchamp’s oeuvre in particular. It then examines the place of play in Poincaré’s philosophy of science, and the ways it permeated Duchamp’s artistic practice. Next, it analyzes Bergson’s theory of humor as presented in his book Laughter (1900), and considers its impact on Duchamp’s work. Finally, it demonstrates how Duchamp integrated both thinkers’ conceptualizations of play into a framework that guided his explorations of comprehension. Influenced by Poincaré and Bergson, Duchamp’s use of play underscores how every process of understanding, in art and in general, cannot remain fixed, but must continually emerge, change, and renew itself.