Arthur Jafa's Radical Theory of Readymade Art | Artnet News
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Arthur Jafa's art reframes the readymade — not as Duchamp's neutral object, but as a charged vessel of Black cultural memory that transforms who gets to define meaning.
Readymade TheoryCultural CapitalInstitutional CritiqueSemiotics
Theory Briefing
- Jafa, born in Tupelo in 1960, rose through cinema before becoming the most revered visual artist of the past decade.
- His 'radical readymade' theory argues that found images and footage carry embedded cultural power, not just aesthetic neutrality.
- By centering Black experience in the readymade tradition, Jafa challenges the Eurocentric framework that Duchamp's original concept left unchallenged.