From the mid-twentieth century onwards, one can observe an increased interest in the concept of destruction and dismantling in all areas of art production. The Damage Control exhibition is the first thorough historical investigation of this theme.
MUDAM
DAMAGE CONTROL
ART AND DESTRUCTION SINCE 1950
12/07/2014 – 12/10/2014
While destruction as a theme can be traced throughout art history, from the early atomic age it has become a pervasive cultural element. In the immediate post-World War II years, to invoke destruction in art was to evoke the war itself: the awful devastation of battle, the firebombing of entire cities, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan, and, of course, the Holocaust. Art seemed powerless in the face of that terrible history.
NEON and the Whitechapel Gallery are collaborating to present an exhibition of works by Greek and international artists at the Gennadius Library curated by Iwona Blazwick OBE, the Director of the Whitechapel Gallery. The exhibition will be installed throughout the venue, both inside the library spaces and outside them in its formal gardens. The selected works are executed in a wide range of media, and include video, sound and sculpture installations.