Artist Birthdays, July 28: MARCEL DUCHAMP, JIM DAVIS

MARCEL DUCHAMP (July 28, 1887 – October 2, 1968)

• Nationality: French
• Field: Painting, sculpture
• Art Movement: Dadaism, Surrealism, Cubism
• ARTiFact: Was obsessed with the game of chess – a fascination which distressed his first wife so much that she glued his chess pieces to the board while he was asleep.
• Artist Quote: “Art may be bad, good or indifferent, but, whatever adjective is used, we must call it art, and bad art is still art in the same way as a bad emotion is still an emotion.”
• Important Artwork (shown below): Fountain, 1917.

JIM DAVIS (July 28, 1945 – )

• Nationality: American
• Field: Cartooning
• ARTiFact: His comic strip Garfield  – a character named after his grandfather James A. “Garfield” Davis and based on the 25 cats he grew up with on the family farm – made its debut in newspapers in 1978.
• Artist Quote: “Way down deep, we’re all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them.”
• Important Artwork (shown below): The first Garfield comic, 1978.

Related Links:

• Further reading about Marcel Duchamp www.marcelduchamp.net
• Interactive timeline of Marcel Duchamp’s life http://www.understandingduchamp.com
• View selections of Garfield animation art available at Park West Gallery sales.parkwestgallery.com
• The official website of Garfield and Friends www.garfield.com