Marcel Duchamp: Tu M'. Ratsel Uber Ratsel

The oeuvre Duchamp left us is small and repeatedly subject to multiple interpretations of the art historical, psychological, socio-critical and alchemical persuasion. And yet, how odd: Duchamp's last painting, Tu m' from 1918, has never drawn extensive attention among his exegetes. The title itself poses a riddle. Karl Gerstner, a prominent Swiss graphic designer who knew Duchamp personally, was taken aback the first time he saw Tu m', but also intrigued. Having acquired a reproduction of the picture, Gerstner proceeded to penetrate its meanings and surfaces more and more deeply; as his surprise faded, his fascination grew. This is how this book — encouraged by Richard Hamilton, perhaps the most intimate Duchamp connoisseur — came about, with twenty analytical essays solving riddles galore.