1. Commercially produced; not homemade
2. Made for purchase and immediate use.
1. Something (as a garment) that is ready-made
2. [French ready-made, from English]; a commonplace artifact (as a comb or ice tongs) selected and shown as a work of art
In the visual arts, an object chosen at random by the artist, as opposed to being selected for any presumed esthetic 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 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) favored 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 esthetic qualities or its potential as an exhibit for esthetic contemplation.