The wheel thing

How many of you have stepped into a great museum and headed straight to the bookshop first? Be honest. We were doing just that at Tate Modern the other day and saw this miniature Duchamp wheel for sale as tie in to a Duchamp, Picabia, Man Ray exhibition. When we saw Michael Parekowhai’s version of this Duchamp work balanced on the tip of a seal’s nose, the conceit of making a ready made seemed perfect – a nice balance between homage and interrogation. But making miniature versions in China and boxing them up on behalf of the Duchamp Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum seems a big step in another direction. You can here them round the table discussing merchandise, “The boss made miniatures for his valises, let’s do it.”