Brain Food #598

Destruction is part of progress

Thoughts of the day

The paradox of creation is that, beneath the surface, it involves a decent dose of destruction. Previous drafts of novels are torn apart. Thoughts are discarded, or merged together. Songs are rearranged. Sculpture takes this a step further, by being an artform of creation through subtraction: sculptors reach their final vision by removing parts of pre-existing material. In all cases, the original form rarely remains.

A similar principle can be found in the art of collage. Collage artists destroy something, literally tearing it apart, to create something new. Art is a constant process of regeneration and recreation. And the beautiful thing about collages is that they extend this act of recreation into infinity, using only pre-existing material. Collage artists look around them for inspiration, and often they do not have to go far.

John Stezaker, who is widely known for his collages, even won a photography award for his work, thus challenging (and recreating) the perception of the medium itself.

The premise remains the same; existing ideas have to eventually be reinvented, replaced by new ones. Destruction is part of progress. We look around us, keep what makes sense and we throw away the rest. What are you holding onto, that is waiting to be destroyed?