One of the most singular figures in the art world continuum, Marcel Duchamp changed the way we look at and produce art today. Marcel Duchamp was by far one of the most controversial figures in art. Two of her best known and most discussed pieces are The Fountain and The Bride Stripped Bare from her Bachelors, Even. Duchamp created many other pieces that negatively attracted the attention of critics, other artists, and the public; however, these two pieces alone sparked the most controversy. In 1917, Marcel Duchamp presented his urinal, the Fountain, to the American Society of Independent Artists. The urinal was taken from the J.L. Mott Iron Works in New York City, rotated ninety degrees, and signed “R. Bastard." The name “R. Mutt” was a pseudonym he created to sign the piece. “R” stands for Richard and was slang for a rich man, and “Mutt” refers to a cartoon character from the show." Mott and Mutt." The American Society of Independent Artists was a non-juried show, providing an opportune moment for Duchamp to present his work. Although the exhibition was not juried, the work was not accepted for multiple reasons. Many art critics considered the work absurd and too vulgar to be displayed in the exhibition. Published in the art magazine “The Blind Man” in May 1917, Marcel Duchamp wrote, under the pseudonym Beatrice Wood: “They say that every artist who pay six dollars can exhibit. Richard Mutt sent a fountain. Without discussion this article disappeared and was never exhibited. What were the reasons for rejecting Mr. Mutt's fountain:--1. 2. Others, it was plagiarism, a simple piece of piping. Now, Mr. Mutt's fountain is not immoral, this is absurd... middle of paper... theAges. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College, 2004. Rosenthal, Nan. "Marcel Duchamp (18871968) | Thematic essay | Timeline of Heilbrunn's art history | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Home. 2004. Accessed 27 October 2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/duch/hd_duch.htm.Stafford, Andrew. “Making Sense of Marcel Duchamp.” Making sense of Marcel Duchamp. 2008. Accessed October 27, 2011. http://www.understandingduchamp.com/.Stokstad, Marilyn, Frederick M. Asher, and Michael Watt.Cothren. History of art. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. Strickland, Carol, and John Boswell. The Mona Lisa annotated: an intensive course in art history from prehistory to postmodernism. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1992. Stafford, Andrew. Making sense of Marcel Duchamp. 2008. Accessed November 20, 2011. http://www.understandingduchamp.com/index.html.