ready-made

In the visual arts, an object chosen at random by the artist, as opposed to being selected for any presumed aesthetic merit, and presented as a work of art. The concept was first launched by Marcel Duchamp when he exhibited a bicycle wheel set on a stool in 1913. Popular among Dadaists, ready-mades have been used to challenge the elitist qualities of fine art.

Although very similar to the found object (French objet trouvé) favoured by the surrealists, ready-mades differ in that they are mass-manufactured items and are chosen entirely at random. According to Duchamp, the selection of a found object is based on its aesthetic qualities or its potential as an exhibit for aesthetic contemplation.