Destruction as Opportunity
Merz Construction Kurt Schwitters, German, 1887 - 1948
Kurt Schwitters

Merz Construction, German, 1887 – 1948

Made in Germany, Europe

1921

Medium:

Assemblage: painted wood, wire mesh, cardboard, paper

38.1 x 21 x 6.4 cm

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Nicolas Poussin, The Empire of Flora
Nicolas Poussin,

The Empire of Flora, 1631

oil on canven, 131 × 181 cm

Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister

What happens when art doesn’t last? Or alternatively, what happens when an artist seeks to destroy the past? To overturn existing ideas and styles?  It requires courage to seize the opportunity to undertake a complete reinvention and to decide that your way is the best way into the future.  By observing works of art and architecture and understanding how they were made – or unmade, Vanessa Badré helps us to explore the benefits of destruction. When is starting over good? What is necessary for it to succeed as a creative endeavor? When is it necessary? In the COVID and eventually post-COVID world, when so many aspects of life and business have been completely upended, what can artistic destruction reveal to us?