Work of art

The term objet d'art is reserved to describe works of art that are not paintings, prints, drawings or large or medium-sized sculptures, or architecture (e.g. household goods, figurines, etc., some purely aesthetic, some also practical).

Marcel Duchamp criticized the idea that the work of art must be a unique product of an artist's labour or skill through his "readymades": "mass-produced, commercially available, often utilitarian objects" to which he gave titles, designating them as artwork only through these processes of choosing and naming.

[6] Artist Michael Craig-Martin, creator of An Oak Tree, said of his work – "It's not a symbol.

Some, such as the readymades of Marcel Duchamp including his infamous urinal Fountain, are later reproduced as museum quality replicas.

Research suggests that presenting an artwork in a museum context can affect the perception of it.