The art of destruction
QUESTION Has any artist deliberately destroyed their own works?
THIS practice is rooted in various motivations such as creative expression, dissatisfaction, or the desire to control one’s artistic legacy.
From the Renaissance to contemporary street art, renowned artists such as Michelangelo, Claude Monet, John Baldessari, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Francis Bacon, and Banksy have left their mark not only through creation but also through intentional destruction.
An early example dates back to the 16th century, when Michelangelo partially defaced a marble Pietà. He hammered into Christ’s left leg and arm, destroying them. The reasons for this act are not known, with theories ranging from fears of exposure as a Protestant sympathiser during the Inquisition, to frustration over the quality of the marble. Regardless, Michelangelo’s destructive impulse became a symbolic act, exemplifying the complex relationship artists have with their creations.
Claude Monet, known for his water lily paintings, engaged in deliberate destruction as well. Upset with a series of works intended for an exhibition, Monet took a knife to at least 15 paintings in 1908, delaying the Paris exhibition. This act was not isolated, as Monet continued to dispose of or repaint works created during his visually impaired years post-cataract surgery.
Conceptual artist John Baldessari made a profound statement in 1970 by destroying all the paintings he created between 1953 and 1966 by cremation. The ashes were incorporated into cookie dough, and the resulting piece, The Cremation Project, marked the death of one artistic phase and the birth of another.
Abstract expressionist Agnes Martin, grappling with mental health challenges, erased all her early landscape paintings, leaving only her meticulous minimalist masterworks. Her deliberate destruction reflected a desire for control over her artistic image, possibly influenced by her struggle with schizophrenia.
Georgia O’Keeffe, a pioneer of American modernism, exhibited a different kind of control by buying back and destroying several of her paintings, all self-portraits, as well as several of her former husband Alfred Stieglitz’s photographs. This act, occurring in the 1980s as she approached the end of her life, showcased O’Keeffe’s determination to shape her legacy.
Banksy, a contemporary street and political artist, achieved global attention in 2018 when his artwork Girl With Balloon selfdestructed after selling for over £1million at Sotheby’s.
The frame was equipped with an automatic shredding device, and the act was intended to question consumerism and art valuation. Though the device malfunctioned and the piece was only partly destroyed, the incident paradoxically increased the value of the work, leading to the emergence of a new piece entitled Love Is In The Bin.
Even after death, artists like Francis Bacon continued to exert control over their creations. Bacon left behind nearly 100 destroyed canvases in his studio. Gorilla With Microphones, a piece that had already been displayed, was found mutilated, a testament to the artist’s ruthless self-criticism.
Catherine Moore, Oxfordshire.
QUESTION Is it true that when you flip a coin there is a slightly greater chance that it will end up on the side it started on?
IN 2007, the U.S. mathematician and magician Persi Diaconis proposed that when a coin is flipped, the flipper’s thumb imparts a slight wobble to it, causing it to spend more time with one side facing upwards while in the air and making it more likely to land showing that side. He predicted that the coin should land showing the same side that was facing up when flipped approximately 51% of the time.
Frantisek Bartos and 48 other researchers put this to the test. They performed 350,757 coin flips using 46 different currencies. This confirmed the Diaconis finding. The coins landed how they started more often than 50%. Specifically, the data featured 178,078 sameside landings from 350,757 tosses. That’s 50.77%.
Martin Oliver, Hertfordshire.
QUESTION Did Julius Caesar hire thugs to beat up members of the Roman senate to get legislation passed?
WHILE Julius Caesar is much admired for his skill as a general and for his political acumen, it is often overlooked that he was not averse to skulduggery.
The traditional method for enacting legislation was for the senate to debate it before putting it to the people. Caesar thought nothing of short-cutting the process and taking legislation directly to the populace, bypassing the senate.
Caesar’s great opponent in the denate was Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis who was opposed to his ideas of modernisation. In his campaigning against Caesar, Cato was beaten up at least once. Whether his assailants were hired by Caesar or not can’t be proven, but Cato claimed his bruises as badges of honour in his fight to defend the republic.
On another occasion, Caesar was making an appeal to the people of Rome for the passage of legislation when one of the two consuls tried to stop him. Caesar had him seized and a bucket of excrement was thrown over him, to the delight of the crowd.
After a civil war fought against Caesar’s former ally Pompey and Cato, Caesar achieved his ambition to become dictator of Rome. Caesar had offered to pardon Cato after his defeat in Utica, North Africa, but Cato refused on principle and plunged a dagger into his own heart.
Is there a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Irish Daily Mail, DMG Media, Two Haddington Buildings, 20-38 Haddington Road, Dublin 4, D04 HE94. You can also fax them to 0044 1952 510906 or you can email them to charles. legge@dailymail.ie. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.