Hull City of Culture

Description

Fountain 17

Celebrating the dual anniversaries of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (100 years) and Armitage Shanks (200 years) in 2017; the year that Hull is City of Culture. MARCEL DUCHAMP’S FOUNTAIN In April 1917 French artist Marcel Duchamp submitted his ‘readymade’ Fountain to the Society of Independent Artists’ fi rst exhibition in New York. Fountain was a pre-existing manufactured urinal, signed ‘R.Mutt’; which Duchamp selected, turned on its back and presented for exhibition. The exhibit was rejected. This action redirected the trajectory of 20th century art and in 2004, 500 elected art professionals voted Fountain the most infl uential artwork of the 20th century. ARMITAGE SHANKS In 1817 Thomas Bond, a brick maker in the village of Armitage, built a bottle kiln and began manufacturing tableware. By the mid 19th century the company began manufacturing sanitaryware sold under the name Armitage Ware. Armitage Ware merged with Shanks in 1969 to form Armitage Shanks. In 1998 Ideal Standard purchased Armitage Shanks. Armitage Shanks remains a brand within the Ideal Standard UK Company brand portfolio today and is used primarily to market washrooms and bathrooms within Commercial sectors. Ideal Standard has been an employer within Hull for over a hundred years. HULL AND CITY OF CULTURE Hull is a city with a strong history connected to the fi shing industry and the docks. The city also has a recent history of temporary, experimental artist led initiatives. 2013 saw Hull successful in their bid to become the second UK City of Culture and today in 2017 “365 days of transformative cultural activity” has begun…

Period	1 Apr 2017 - 14 May 2017
Event type	Exhibition
Location	Hull, United Kingdom