How did Marcel Duchamp narrow the distance between art and everyday life?

Marcel Duchamp narrowed the distance between art and everyday life primarily by developing the ready-made, a concept that challenged traditional aesthetic standards and the notion of the unique art object.12

By selecting mass-produced, commonplace items—such as a bicycle wheel or a porcelain urinal—and designating them as art, Duchamp shifted the definition of art from a material process to an intellectual one. This approach effectively broke down the boundaries between fine art and everyday objects, as the artist’s choice and signature became the primary factors in elevating a mundane item to the status of art.231

Duchamp’s work served as a protest against the excessive importance placed on traditional art objects and helped establish a new, critical framework for contemporary art. His influence was profound, providing a foundational basis for later movements such as Pop art, which drew directly from popular culture, and conceptual art, which prioritizes the artist's idea over the final physical product.24