Catalogue This

Cover of deluxe edition of "Sur Marcel Duchamp" by Robert Lebel (1958, Our Lady of Desire)
 
Support archival barriers^^. Material to place between
object and viewer^^: vitrine, (curios)ity, clear labels.
Protect the art(e)fact. Keep all at books length^^.
Display cabinets^^ should be insect/rodent proof
lined with soft material, disinclined towards the viewer^^.
Lit so as not to cast the curator’s^^ shadow.
All viewers^^ should be stable, neat and clean.
Proximity+distance = transparency^^.
Display outer-box^^ closed like a glass coffin standing on end.
Catalogue^^ the modern convenience of gas and running water.

In response to Marcel Duchamp's ‘Eau & gaz à tous les étages (Water & Gas on All Floors)’ 1958.

See the artwork that inspired this poem in the flesh, along with more than 100 of Marcel Duchamp’s world-renowned pieces in ‘The Essential Duchamp’ exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 27 April – 11 August 2019.