The aim of this research paper is to focus on the history, philosophy and sonic outcomes of Instrument Destruction, particularly in relation to performance art. whilst exploring ethics and danger involved in destroying instruments. This research will be undertaken with Annea Lockwood’s Piano Transplants’ series firmly in mind, and reference will be made to both scores and performances of these works. This paper also represents a unique opportunity to raise awareness on important works in experimental music, contributing new perspectives and ideas to the field.
Ethics, Safety and Disclaimers
In any radical art form, there are often people who will protest the practices for ethical or safety reasons, for example, a student may not be able to …show more content…
However when everyday life became the fear and destruction that was war, artists began to introduce new styles of art that used different medias and inspirations. Dada and Cubism were some of the movements that inspired this. Auto-destructive Art follows these techniques by taking everyday objects and damaging or destroying them, generally by causing damage, and then letting it destroy or damage itself the rest of the way using corrosion, stress or heat. In this way it echos Dada by rejecting old concepts in order to re-define them, and to also make a political statement. It also spawned the Destruction in Art symposium (DIAS), an important event in the history of destruction …show more content…
Typically, as with a lot of Fluxus, Dada or abstract art, destruction is about a message, political, ideological or otherwise promoting the counter-consumerist ethos, or critiquing society on flaws such as over valuing inanimate objects, as stated earlier in this paper. Arguably though, there is a more spiritual side to destruction also. As referenced in the ‘Analysis’ section of this paper, a performance such as Piano Burning enables an artist to give an old, tired instrument a fantastic final performance, funeral and cremation all in one. Piano Garden however, can be seen as a place for old pianos to age gracefully and return to nature, while being appreciated. These are both examples of great ways to pay tribute to an
Ethics, Safety and Disclaimers
In any radical art form, there are often people who will protest the practices for ethical or safety reasons, for example, a student may not be able to …show more content…
However when everyday life became the fear and destruction that was war, artists began to introduce new styles of art that used different medias and inspirations. Dada and Cubism were some of the movements that inspired this. Auto-destructive Art follows these techniques by taking everyday objects and damaging or destroying them, generally by causing damage, and then letting it destroy or damage itself the rest of the way using corrosion, stress or heat. In this way it echos Dada by rejecting old concepts in order to re-define them, and to also make a political statement. It also spawned the Destruction in Art symposium (DIAS), an important event in the history of destruction …show more content…
Typically, as with a lot of Fluxus, Dada or abstract art, destruction is about a message, political, ideological or otherwise promoting the counter-consumerist ethos, or critiquing society on flaws such as over valuing inanimate objects, as stated earlier in this paper. Arguably though, there is a more spiritual side to destruction also. As referenced in the ‘Analysis’ section of this paper, a performance such as Piano Burning enables an artist to give an old, tired instrument a fantastic final performance, funeral and cremation all in one. Piano Garden however, can be seen as a place for old pianos to age gracefully and return to nature, while being appreciated. These are both examples of great ways to pay tribute to an