Eight Years of Swimming Lessons

In 1987 Pierre Cabanne published his book Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp, a wonderful insight into the life and mind of the artist two years prior to his death. I particularly enjoyed the first chapter under the aptly named title, ‘Eight Years of Swimming Lessons’. Duchamp discusses the meaning of the word intelligence, as he puts it, ‘the most elastic word in the dictionary.’ He says that for Andre Breton, ‘intelligence was in some way the penetration of what the average normal man finds incomprehensible or difficult to understand.’ Intelligence is a non-quantifiable, perhaps non-teachable unknown. The problem I found with Duchamp’s reference to Breton is that he is equating intelligence to insight, which can turn too easily to cynicism in my opinion. Intelligence, as Duchamp rightly states, is not the same as being book-smart, especially the type of intelligence he is discussing. But equally if intelligence is a more liberal stirring the status quo (of which Duchamp seems to lean further towards) this too can translate into meaningless antagonism, which is highly unintelligent in my opinion (not stupid… unintelligent!) Likewise, stupidity in one era may be intelligence in another (and vica versa). Duchamp argues that intelligence is a form of questioning yourself, asking yourself, ‘why?’ From questioning emanates uncertainly and doubt of everything else. However, he also states that this is a positive, if everything went to plan you’d lose interest. Going through the motions is the same as acceptance. This is laziness, you stop asking ‘Why?’, ‘How?’ ,‘What if?’ An extraordinary curiously is the most effective driving force behind intelligence. Duchamp believed in a distrust of systemisation, ‘I’ve never been able to contain myself enough to accept established formulas, to copy, or to be influenced.’ I have never thought before about allowing oneself to be influenced as a form of self –control, more the opposite. I will get back to you on this thought when I’ve given it more consideration….