NEW YORK, NY.- For the last twenty years of his life, Marcel Duchamp worked in absolute secrecy on his final masterpiece. After his death on October 2nd, 1968, his close friends and the world were stunned to find, hidden in his studio at 80 East 11th Street Suite #403, the completed tant donns, an elaborately detailed and beautifully disturbing room—encompassing tableau, which could be peered upon through two peepholes in a wooden door, enclosing the illuminated scene within.
Four years ago, Serkan zkaya imagined tant donns as a camera obscura. What if the peepholes weren't only peepholes? (When has Duchamp's work only ever been one thing?) What if the peepholes were also meant to project an image? Ozkaya built a scale model to see; to his surprise, the projected image resembled a face.
zkaya contacted the Philadelphia Museum of Art—where tant donns has been permanently installed since 1969—with his discovery. Several conversations with PMA's curators resulted in a dead end. zkaya was not permitted to test his theory with the piece. Thus, he embarked upon making an exact recreation. zkaya further secured the studio in which the piece was originally completed. Following Duchamp's exacting instructions, the idea could be tested in situ.
Featured in The New York Times, October 1st, Marc Mewshaw writes: "A previously unknown self-portrait lurking unnoticed for five decades within a supremely enigmatic work? To devotees of Duchamp, among the 20th century's most influential artists, it's a Dead Sea Scrolls moment."
Now,
Postmasters is presenting zkaya's recreation, entitled We Will Wait. The room-sized installation is being shown in a never–before–seen or accessible space. In the adjacent gallery, a selection of objects, such as the female figure, extricated through meticulous research and 3D printed at Womp Studios in Brooklyn; artifacts, such as the Welsbach burner from the late 1800s; and documents, such as the long exposure photo of the projected face of Duchamp in a light box and historic photographs paired with contemporary photographs taken by zkaya, are being exhibited.
Coinciding with the exhibition is the release of PUBLIC Issue #56, edited by zkaya and poet Robert Fitterman. Dedicated to Duchamp's final piece and zkaya's discovery, the issue is titled PUBLIC ATTENDANT A-Z.
