Rotoreliefs (Optical Disks)

Marcel Duchamp intended this series of printed, double-sided disks to be experienced in motion, revolving on an electric wall mounted turntable. Composed primarily of circular designs, the flat disks generate the impression of three-dimensional depth as they spin. Duchamp began experimenting with visual perception in the early 1900s, seeking to create “purely optical things.” First displayed at a technology fair in Paris, his Rotoreliefs are extensions of this pursuit and anticipate the scientifically-minded approaches to abstraction by artists to come.