In Art Which Can't Be Art, Kaprow describes how anything, even an action as simple as brushing your teeth, can be considered art. To this assertion, he cites Marcel Duchamp who's famous ready-made piece The Fountain (1917) essentially pissed upon the notion that art required a certain degree of skill and creativity. Kaprow goes on to say, however that while this idea was novel and provocative at first, it became trivialized in the decades that followed. To avoid this pitfall, he stopped actively thinking of brushing his teeth as art. Instead, it became an exercise in mindfulness during which he examined the ritualistic quality of his actions. This allowed Kaprow to see himself in a way that he admits he didn't necessarily want to see – unpolished and ungroomed, without the guise of his public persona. Kaprow concludes by connecting the contemporary trend of bringing art outside the gallery to the act of brushing his teeth in his own bathroom. Therein, he says, lies the paradox – the artist concerned with lifelike art is the one who is indeed making art without even trying. Whether that art is recognized as such is another matter.
Kaprow's ideas about art/not art relates to our first project because just like the act of brushing his teeth, any repeated action can be seen as art. He implies that the "art" lies in the artist's intentions and sense of self rather than the execution. Therefore, observing an action such as natural decay can be seen as art too, it all depends on, quite literally, how you frame it.