The parts equal the whole but the whole does not equal the parts.
The parts equal the whole but the whole does not equal the parts. You can't fully recover the parts from the whole because something new emerged in the combination.
Emergence.
To this day, no one knows what became of the “original.” We only have 17 copies that Duchamp created in the 1960s. Perhaps it was indeed one of his provocative female friends, the names Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and Louise Norton have been suggested, who came up with the whole urinal idea in the first place. The nebulous origins of the Fountain only add to its many layers and complexities.
If the genesis and meaning of Fountain remain elusive, it has provided countless artists with something of a starting pistol for the idea of art-as-concept in the 20th century, underscoring the fact that the definition of art itself is up for grabs. Source: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-duchamps-urinal-changed-art-forever
