April Fool's Day: Art History's Notorious Pranksters
The Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, 1917
In the spirit of April Fool's day, we decided to share a few highlights from art's rich history of tomfoolery. Though art is often regarded as a serious matter, these playful pranksters flout those preconceptions. From Duchamp's iconic urinal to Hugo Ball's temple-scratching cabarets, here is a look at a few of art history's most notorious pranksters:
MARCEL DUCHAMP
Most Infamous Pranks:
Declaring a urinal art in The Fountain
Drawing the a beard and mustache on a postcard of the Mona Lisa and implying a certain level of promiscuity in L.H.O.O.Q.
Mounting a bicycle wheel onto a stool in Bicycle Wheel.
PIERO MANZONI
Most Infamous Pranks:
Collecting stool samples in 90 custom-labeled tin cans and treating them as art in Artist's Shit.
Exhibiting his breath in balloons.
Exhibiting his fingerprint in ink on a hard-boiled egg.
HUGO BALL
Most Infamous Pranks:
Founding an artist-focused night club The Cabaret Voltaire, where he would put on dada performances including "Sound Poems" consisting of nonsensical words.
Wearing lobster claws and a cylindrical hat.
MAURIZIO CATTELAN
Most Infamous Pranks:
During his first solo show, taping a note on the door saying "I'll be right back," never coming back.
Duct taping a Milanese gallerist to the wall of his gallery for one day.
Erecting a 36-foot tall white marble sculpture of a raised middle finger. Titling it L.O.V.E.
TOM FRIEDMAN
Most Infamous Pranks:
Placing a fake, though highly-realistic, fly on a minimalist sculpture.