The readymades of Marcel Duchamp refers to a body of work by Marcel Duchamp important because appropriation art and by extension, pop art has traditionally used the readymade as its precedent. At the turn of the century, the term "readymade" denoted manufactured items as distinct from handmade goods.
Duchamp's conception of the readymade changed and developed over time. "My intention was to get away from myself", he said, "though I knew perfectly well that I was using myself. Call it a little game between 'I' and 'me'". Assisted readymades - conjunction
Rectified readymades - additive application
Provoked readymades -
Reciprocal readymades -
Whether Duchamp was unable to define or explain his opinion of readymades or if he simply refused to is echoed in contradictory statements such as "I'm not at all sure that the concept of the readymade isn't the most important single idea to come out of my work" and "I've never been able to arrive at a definition or explanation that fully satisfies me."