Below is a glossary article post in the category A which discusses the explanation of the meaning, definition and meaning of the acronym, term, jargon, or termonology of Auto-Destructive Art based on summaries from various types of sources (references) that are relevant, related, and trustworthy.
Understanding Auto-Destructive Art
So, what is actually meant by Auto-Destructive Art?
The art of automatic destroyers is a term discovered by artist Gustav Metzger in the early 1960s to describe radical artwork created by himself and others, where destruction is part of the process of creating the work.
Explanation of Auto-Destructive Art
This term was created by Gustav Metzger shortly after the end of World War II, during the era of political riots known as the Cold War. The discovery of nuclear weapons and its use by the US against Japan in 1945, left a deep impression throughout the world. As a reaction to this, the anti-war group, Committee 100 (which should be named by Metzger itself) was formed in 1960 and Metzger began to make paintings using acid as a form of creative protest.
Metzger first mentions the art of automatic destruction in his article, automatic creative art and automatic destruction in the 1962 summer edition of the ARK journal. But he has practiced this form for several years, creating his first acid painting in 1959 as another way to protest the nuclear war. These works were created by spraying acid into the nylon sheet, which produces a rapidly changing form in soluble nylon that makes the work both automatic creative and automatic destruction:
The important thing about burning a hole in the sheet, is that it opens a new view throughout the Thames of St Paul’s Cathedral. The art of automatic destroyers never just damage. Destroy the canvas and you make shapes. (Metzger quoted by Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian, 2012)
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Show Purpose
Automatic destructive art is basically political; Also carrying anti-capitalist and anti-consumer messages. This discusses the attractiveness of an unhealthy community to the destruction, as well as the negative impact of the machine on our existence.
In 1966 Metzger and others organized art symposium in London. This was followed by other people in New York in 1968. This symposium was accompanied by a public demonstration of the art of destroying cars including the burning of the Skoob tower by John Latham. This is a book tower (Skoob is a reverse book) and Latham’s intention is to directly show his view that Western culture is burning.
In 1960, Swiss artist Jean Tinguely made a statue of his own engine, Hommage à New York, who hit himself into pieces in the Modern Art Museum Statue Park, New York.
Manifesto
Metzger released two manifesto that clarified the term. The key principles are as follows:
The time – work must be, within 20 years, returning to the state of its original destruction.
Complementary Self-Metzger emphasizes the importance of the process that continues as soon as the artist starts, avoiding a sense of ownership of the development of the work.
Participation – This movement is centered around public participation. Although artists can start the process, it must happen in public spaces. This cannot be consumed personally for certain groups.
Moreover, as we have seen above, this term is one of a collection of dictionaries, acronyms, terms, jargon, or terminology in the field of arts that begins with an alphabet or prefix A, as well as terms associated with A.
Meaning of Auto-Destructive Art in the English, Indonesian (Including Javanese and Sundanese), and Malaysian Translation Dictionary
Apart from discussing the meaning and discussion of the definition, to deepen it further, here we also need to know what the word means in the English, Indonesian (including Javanese and Sundanese) translation dictionaries, as well as Malaysia (Malay).
For easy understanding, in this glossary post, we will explain it in the form of a list of translations of terms from various types of languages as follows:
- English; Terminology = Auto-Destructive Art.
- Indonesian (including Javanese and Sundanese translations); Terminology = Seni penghancur otomatis (Indonesian), Seni sing ngrusak otomatis (Java), and Seni mobil-cilaka in Sundanese.
- Malaysian; Terminology = Seni auto-merosakkan.
Closing
OK, above there is the discussion and explanation of what is the meaning of Auto-Destructive Art.
Hopefully this article post that we have shared can be useful and can broaden our insight and literacy, especially in Art.
See also ours other articles related to the field of Art on the main blog page of our website.
Footnotes
This glossary post was created by referring to the conclusions of the meaning of definitions from various authoritative relevant references such as Wikipedia, Britannica and several other sources such as MoMA, Tate, ModernArts, and so on. This word is one of a collection of terminology in the field of Art which begins with the alphabet or prefix A. This article wasupdated in Dec of 2025.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity
- https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=auto-destructive-art
- https://www.britannica.com/search?query=auto-destructive-art
- View example images of auto-destructive-art through Google here
- View example images of auto-destructive-art on Bing here
- View example images of auto-destructive-art on Yandex here
