16 Miles of String: The Relaunch

Marcel Duchamp's "Twine" at "First Papers of Surrealism," 1942

Don’t worry, you have come to the right place. I have decided to cart 16 Miles of String over to ARTINFO, meaning that it will now feature a black background instead of a white one. I’ll continue to write about (and post photographs relating to) contemporary art in New York, the art market, and art history. The only change is that I will be posting more frequently: Monday through Friday. (The long-winded essays will be kept to a minimum.) In addition, I will be adding some special features in coming weeks.

Asked about his “16 Miles of String” installation for the 1942 “First Papers of Surrealism” show in New York, in which he filled the rooms of the Whitelaw Reid mansion with at least a mile of twine, Marcel Duchamp reported that it caught fire before the opening and had to be reinstalled. “I don't know how, but at a given moment they burned,” he told the interviewer. “Since guncotton burns without a flame, it was terrifying. But it worked out all right. It was rather funny.”

Terrifying and funny. Hopefully, 16 Miles of String — the blog — will be similarly successful. Thank you for following along. You can also join me on Twitter and Flickr.