Auto-destructive art
Encyclopedia
Auto-Destructive art is a term invented by the artist Gustav Metzger
in the early 1960s and put into circulation by his article Machine, Auto-Creative and Auto-Destructive Art in the summer 1962 issue of the journal Ark. From 1959, he had made work by spraying acid onto sheets of nylon
as a protest against nuclear weapons. In his Acid on Nylon Paintings this procedure produced rapidly changing shapes as the nylon disintegrated before being totally consumed by the hydrochloric acid. Metzger produced many other works that were simultaneously Auto-Destructive and Auto-Creative, such as his Liquid Crystal Light Projections that necessitate the destruction of an existing form for the creation of a new form.
In 1966, Metzger and others organised the Destruction in Art Symposium
in London
. This was followed by another in New York
in 1968. The Symposium brought together many artists engaged in destruction in their work and was accompanied by public demonstrations of Destruction art including the burning of Skoob Towers by John Latham
. These were towers of books (skoob is books in reverse) and Latham's intention was to demonstrate directly his view that Western culture was burned out.
In 1960, the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely
made the first of his self-destructive machine sculptures, Hommage a New York, which battered itself to pieces in the Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Modern Art
, New York.
Pete Townshend
of The Who
would later relate destroying his guitar on stage to auto-destructive art. Band member Keith Moon
dramatically followed suit by placing explosives into his drums (at some points nearly blowing himself to pieces).
Japanese Noise
/Performance Art
band the Hanatarash
would create entire performances out of destroying their sets with power tools and with other non musical instruments, and the sound produced being the focus, essentially producing 'art' based on complete destruction.
Gustav Metzger
Gustav Metzger is an artist and political activist who developed the concept of Auto-Destructive Art and the Art Strike. Together with John Sharkey, he initiated the Destruction in Art Symposium in 1966...
in the early 1960s and put into circulation by his article Machine, Auto-Creative and Auto-Destructive Art in the summer 1962 issue of the journal Ark. From 1959, he had made work by spraying acid onto sheets of nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
as a protest against nuclear weapons. In his Acid on Nylon Paintings this procedure produced rapidly changing shapes as the nylon disintegrated before being totally consumed by the hydrochloric acid. Metzger produced many other works that were simultaneously Auto-Destructive and Auto-Creative, such as his Liquid Crystal Light Projections that necessitate the destruction of an existing form for the creation of a new form.
In 1966, Metzger and others organised the Destruction in Art Symposium
Destruction in Art Symposium
The Destruction in Art Symposium was a gathering of a diverse group of international artists, poets, and scientists to London, from 9–11 September 1966...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This was followed by another in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1968. The Symposium brought together many artists engaged in destruction in their work and was accompanied by public demonstrations of Destruction art including the burning of Skoob Towers by John Latham
John Latham (artist)
John Aubrey Clarendon Latham, was a British conceptual artist who lived for many years in England. He believed that violence and conflict between the people of the world is the result of ideological differences...
. These were towers of books (skoob is books in reverse) and Latham's intention was to demonstrate directly his view that Western culture was burned out.
In 1960, the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely
Jean Tinguely
Jean Tinguely was a Swiss painter and sculptor. He is best known for his sculptural machines or kinetic art, in the Dada tradition; known officially as metamechanics...
made the first of his self-destructive machine sculptures, Hommage a New York, which battered itself to pieces in the Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York.
Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
of The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
would later relate destroying his guitar on stage to auto-destructive art. Band member Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
dramatically followed suit by placing explosives into his drums (at some points nearly blowing himself to pieces).
Japanese Noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
/Performance Art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
band the Hanatarash
Hanatarash
Hanatarashi , meaning "sniveler" or "snot-nosed" in Japanese, was a noise band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye and featured Zeni Geva guitarist Mitsuru Tabata. The outfit was formed in Osaka, Japan in 1984 after Eye and Tabata met as stage hands at an Einstürzende Neubauten show...
would create entire performances out of destroying their sets with power tools and with other non musical instruments, and the sound produced being the focus, essentially producing 'art' based on complete destruction.
See also
- Anti-artAnti-artAnti-art is a loosely-used term applied to an array of concepts and attitudes that reject prior definitions of art and question art in general. Anti-art tends to conduct this questioning and rejection from the vantage point of art...
and Anti-anti-artAnti-anti-artAnti-anti-art is a stance proposed by the Stuckists in their manifestos outlining their art. In it, they take a particularly strong position in opposition to what is known as "anti-art".... - Danger musicDanger musicDanger music is an experimental form of avant-garde 20th and 21st century classical music. It is based on the concept that some pieces of music can or will harm either the listener or the performer...
- Object to Be DestroyedObject to Be DestroyedObject to Be Destroyed is a work by American artist Man Ray, originally created in 1923. The work, destroyed in 1957, consisted of a metronome with a photograph of an eye attached to its swinging arm. It was remade in multiple copies in later years, and renamed Indestructible Object...
(1923 work by Man RayMan RayMan Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
)