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The Destruction of Art: Iconoclasm and Vandalism since the French Revolution

(Paperback)

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Publishing Details

Full Title:

The Destruction of Art: Iconoclasm and Vandalism since the French Revolution

Contributors:

By (Author) Dario Gamboni

ISBN:

9781861893161

Publisher:

Reaktion Books

Imprint:

Reaktion Books

Publication Date:

1st March 2007

Country:

United Kingdom

Classifications

Readership:

General

Fiction/Non-fiction:

Non Fiction

Other Subjects:

Crime and criminology
History of art

Dewey:

709.034

Physical Properties

Physical Format:

Paperback

Number of Pages:

416

Description

In January 2006, a man tried to break Marcel Duchamps Fountain sculpture with a small hammer. The sculpted foot of Michelangelos David was damaged in 1991 by a purportedly mentally-ill artist. With each incident, artists and intellectuals must confront the unsettling dynamic between destruction and art. Renowned art historian Dario Gamboni is the first to tackle this weighty issue in depth, exploring spectres of censorship, iconoclasm and vandalism that surround such acts.

Initially galvanized by the sweeping obliteration of architecture and art under the Communist regimes of the Soviet Union and eastern bloc countries, Gamboni investigated other instances of destroyed art and architecture around the globe, uncovering a disquieting and surprisingly widespread phenomenon that still thrives today. As he demonstrates through analyses of incidents occurring in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in both the United States and Europe, a complex relationship exists among the evolution of modern art, contemporary destruction of art, and the long history of iconoclasm. Gamboni probes the concept of artists rights, the power of political protest and the ways in which iconoclasm offers a unique interpretation of societys relationship to art and material culture.

A compelling and thought-provoking study, The Destruction of Art forces us to rethink the ways that we interact with art and react to its power to shock or subdue.

Reviews

well-illustrated . . . Gamboni brings together a great deal of fascinating information * The Independent *
Erudite and entertaining, Gambonis book is an excellent guide to the outrageous in art. * Glasgow Herald *

Author Bio

Dario Gamboni is Professor of Art History at the University of Geneva. He has written widely in the field of art history, and his books include The Destruction of Art (1997), Potential Images: Ambiguity and Indeterminacy in Modern Art (2002) and Paul Gaugin: The Mysterious Centre of Thought (2014), all published by Reaktion Books.

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