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Well, yeah, he could destroy the art whenever he wants. He doesn’t have to try at all.
I very seldom like installation art but this project has merit. Good for him.
He’s planning to try and destroy art? What a poorly worded headline…
As a native speaker I thought it was clear, akin to the “what are you gonna do, stab me?” -man who was stabbed quote.
For more context:
Andrei Molodkin, the Russian dissident artist, has said he does not believe the works by Picasso, Rembrandt, Andy Warhol and others, which he will lock away in a safe with a corrosive substance this Friday, will actually be destroyed.
“I’m not trying to destroy art, and I don’t believe I will have to,” Molodkin told the Guardian, adding that the project, called Dead Man’s Switch, was itself a collaborative artwork like any sculpture or portrait.
“It’s not activism. I believe that Assange will be free and all the collectors and artists who have donated their work did so because they believe he will not die in prison.”
Instead, the artist added, he is trying to spark a discussion over why “destroying the life of people means nothing but destroying art is a huge taboo in the world”.
That’s exactly my point… The way the headline is worded it conflates his plan with trying to destroy the art when the full context of the quote is his clarifying that he’s specifically not trying to destroy the art nor does he believe it’ll come to that. It’s a misleading headline that also doesn’t quite make sense as it conflates trying to do something with publicly “planning” to do something you don’t believe will actually happen.
Yes unusually cluckbaity /editorialy news headline from the Guardian I thought.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
He’s attracted global media attention and criticism after vowing to destroy some of the world’s most precious artwork if Julian Assange dies in prison.
But Andrei Molodkin, the Russian dissident artist, has said he does not believe the works by Picasso, Rembrandt, Andy Warhol and others, which he will lock away in a safe with a corrosive substance this Friday, will actually be destroyed.
“I’m not trying to destroy art, and I don’t believe I will have to,” Molodkin told the Guardian, adding that the project, called Dead Man’s Switch, was itself a collaborative artwork like any sculpture or portrait.
He explained that the artwork will be put into plywood crates alongside the “dead man’s switch” – a pneumatic pump connecting two barrels, one with acid powder and the other with an accelerator that could cause a chemical reaction strong enough to turn the safe’s contents to debris within two hours.
Also included are works by artists such as Jasper Johns, Jannis Kounellis, Robert Rauschenberg, Jake Chapman, Andres Serrano, Santiago Sierra, Sarah Lucas, and Molodkin himself.
The Dead Man’s Switch project is backed by Assange’s wife, Stella, who has cited a report that CIA officials under Donald Trump requested “options” for killing the WikiLeaks founder.
The original article contains 696 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Is someone high up in the decision making process a huge art lover or something? It seems like he is just setting fire to a huge pile of money otherwise.
the artist added, he is trying to spark a discussion over why “destroying the life of people means nothing but destroying art is a huge taboo in the world”.