Behind Every Creation There Is the Fusion of Masculine and Feminine Energy
By Anna Biela
I find myself reflecting on the saying that behind every great man stands an even greater woman.
I recently wrote about Marcel Duchamp and the urinal we know as Fountain, only to discover that the story may be far more complex than the version most of us were taught. It came to my attention that there is an ongoing dispute over the authorship of what many consider to be one of the most influential artworks of the twentieth century—an artwork that forever changed the way we define art itself.
Some scholars argue that the true creator may not have been Marcel Duchamp alone, but the remarkable Dada artist Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Although the debate remains unresolved, the possibility invites us to look at art history through a different lens.
I took a moment to look her up today, and one look into her eyes stopped me. They were the eyes of a wise woman, a visionary—someone who seemed to see beyond the limitations of her time. Elsa was creating during an era when women were not given equal recognition in the art world, and history contains many examples of women’s ideas, inventions, and creative contributions being overlooked or credited to men.
If this theory is true, perhaps Duchamp’s role was not to create Fountain, but to help bring it into the light and allow the world to see it. Ironically, the work was rejected by the very exhibition that claimed to accept all submissions, yet it went on to become a turning point in the history of modern art.
As I reflect on this, I cannot help but wonder if this is the reason I feel pulled toward Banksy like a magnet. Is it because the Heart Art Movement needs his energy? Is there a continuation of this creative dialogue happening across time?
Yesterday, I found myself reflecting on how Duchamp began a new chapter in art—the idea of taking an ordinary object, placing it in a museum, and declaring it art. A century later, Banksy seems to have taken the ordinary object out of the museum and returned it to the collective everyday experience, bringing art back into the streets and into the consciousness of society.
What I wonder is whether this is the next chapter of conceptual art: a moment where the physical object is no longer the essential element, but rather the consciousness, the vibration, and the unified energy behind the creation that generates a heart wave.
Whether Fountain was created by Duchamp, Baroness Elsa, or emerged through the creative exchange between them, I find myself reflecting on something deeper. I believe that behind every great creation there is a fusion of masculine and feminine energy. It is not about one being greater than the other, but about the power that emerges when these forces unite.
The divine masculine and divine feminine create a balance—a creative force that sends ripples into the universe, the effects of which can still be felt today. Perhaps this is why certain works transcend time. They carry not only the energy of the artist, but the energy of a deeper collective awakening.
Maybe the true masterpiece is not only the object itself, but the invisible connection, consciousness, and vibration that brought it into existence.
Sometimes, revisiting history does not take away from the legends—it expands them.