The term found object refers to items created for non-art purposes that artists incorporate into their work, often modifying them only minimally. Some artists have transformed found objects into original works of art with little intervention. Dada artist Marcel Duchamp pioneered the idea of the readymade with his 1917 sculpture Fountain, which comprised a commercially produced urinal turned upside down and signed with Duchamp’s pseudonym, R. Mutt. By simply placing the readymade object in a new context, it was transformed into art. The idea of the readymade was very influential to later artists like Andy Warhol, who handmade perfect copies of commercial packaging like boxes of Brillo pads, forcing viewers to consider what art could be and raising questions about the divide between art and life.

Many folk or self taught artists incorporate found objects into their sculpture or assemblage. Howard Finster, a Baptist preacher in Georgia who created an innovative art environment as a way to spread the gospel, used found objects as diverse as glass bottles and bicycle repair tools into the encrusted concrete sculptures that filled his home. Thornton Dial, a self-taught contemporary artist who worked in Alabama, crafted vast assemblages that combined found items with more traditional art materials like paint and fabric. American artist Joseph Cornell gained renown for his boxes filled with seemingly unrelated repurposed articles, creating meaning out of unexpected juxtapositions. Other artists who have integrated found objects into their work include Betye Saar, Jim Dine, Damien Hirst, Louise Nevelson, Ai Wei Wei, and Anselm Kiefer.