Appearance and Apparition from À l'Infinitif (La Boîte Blanche) (In the Infinitive [The White Box])

Appearance and Apparition from À l'Infinitif (La Boîte Blanche) (In the Infinitive [The White Box]) is a seminal conceptual work by Marcel Duchamp, classified formally as an Illustrated Book. Conceived during the crucial intellectual period of 1912–20, this piece challenges traditional definitions of art by emphasizing process and documentation over aesthetic object. The medium consists of a folder containing four collotype reproductions of the artist’s original, highly significant manuscript notes.

The notes themselves function as the "text" for the conceptual volume, elucidating the complex mechanical and metaphysical ideas that informed Duchamp’s most ambitious project, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass). Produced primarily in the decade leading up to 1920, these handwritten documents were meticulously gathered, and although they had long circulated conceptually among Duchamp’s associates, the definitive edition known as La Boîte Blanche (The White Box) was not formally published until 1966.

Duchamp’s choice of collotype reproductions was deliberate, ensuring that the finished prints maintained the exact fidelity and texture of the original manuscript papers. This approach subverted the conventional role of printmaking; the reproductions here are not merely copies but essential components that unlock the artist's complex intellectual framework.

Though French-born, Duchamp profoundly influenced the trajectory of modernism and Dada, and the work is contextualized within the history of American culture due to his crucial presence and influence in the United States. Appearance and Apparition from À l'Infinitif (La Boîte Blanche) (In the Infinitive [The White Box]) is regarded as an indispensable artifact for understanding the transition from visual art to conceptual theory in the 20th century. This historic set of documents is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where it remains a touchstone for scholarship concerning the early avant-garde movement.