Destroyed/Mutilated Project

For this project, I was unsure which of my previous works I wanted to destroy. I decided to take one of my many figure drawings that I created from the models we had come to class. After I chose the piece that I wanted to destroy, I was still confused as to how I would mutilate it. I grabbed a box of watercolor pencils and began to color the entire figure in unrealistic, bright colors. While going through the PowerPoint of several artists that also destroyed their work, many techniques were mentioned. I wondered why any famous artist would ever destroy their own artwork, so I did some research on why that could be. To my surprise, artists such as Georgia O'Keefe, Michaelangelo, and John Baldessari all destroyed their works at some point in their lives. I was very inspired by Baldessari's cremation process, so I decided I wanted to light my picture on fire, as well. Before doing so, I drew fire surrounding the figure by using watercolor pencils and water. I also chose to cut up the patterned pieces of my Interior Project and glued them in different shapes to the bottom of the page, somewhat symbolizing the coals in which the fire stems from. Finally, I took my picture home and lit the top of the paper on fire with a lighter. I was expecting the edges of the paper to burn slightly and make the paper look old and antiquated. However, the fire burned much quicker than I anticipated and burned the figure's head off, in addition to the sides of the paper. I was very disappointed at first, but then I came to the realization that this was the entire point of this project. I was sad that my work got destroyed, but once I accepted that it truly was mutilated, I was happy with the result. I don't, however, think I would want to do this project again because destroying my work is not something I am used to.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-6-artists-destroyed-art