Art destruction

Art destruction involves the damaging or destruction of works of art. This can happen through a natural process, an accident, or deliberate human involvement.

All physical works of art are slowly affected and degraded by the natural elements. Some may survive long enough to allow the slow processes of erosion to act on them. Works of art may also be destroyed by natural disasters.

Many works of art have been damaged or destroyed by accident.

Many works of visual art are intended by the artist to be temporary. They may be created in media which the artist knows to be temporary, such as sand, or they may be designed specifically to be destroyed. Often the destruction takes place during a ceremony or special event highlighting the destruction. Examples of this type of art include:

Additionally, some artists destroy their own work out of lack of self confidence or to gain a fresh start (the prior art still inside their head). Claude Monet with destroying 30 paintings in the water lilies series and other paintings, or the John Baldessari collective 1953 - 1966 works in a 1970 bonfire were famous examples. An artist also may limit the number and quality variation of his work to make it more scarce, therefore gain a reputation of increasing in later valuations.

Festivals where artwork is destroyed:

Other works of art may be destroyed without the consent of the original artist or of the local community. In other instances, works of art may destroyed by a local authority against the wishes of the outside community. Examples of this include the removal of Diego Rivera's Man at the Crossroads mural from the Rockefeller Center and the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan statues by the Taliban government. More than 14 Gustav Klimt masterpieces burned in a fire set by retreating SS forces at Immendorf Castle in May 1945

...
Wikipedia