Photograph of Eleonora Aguiari's Art Intervention: wrapping a London statue of Lord Napier in red tape

Today's topic isn't about some corner of art history rich with paintings for you to consider and have created. But rather about destroying those paintings...and that being the art.

Art Intervention is the act of intervening with a piece of existing art, either through destroying it or “adding” to it. This genre is often seen as performance art. I consider it to be a very “punk rock” aspect in the art-world. A nihilist “screw off” that often also looks like a practical joke. There is often a fine line between this “school” of art and vandalism. Consider these situations and decide for yourself.

Hammer to a Urinal

Marchel Duchamp was dadaist, subscribing to an avant garde, anti-art agenda. His work “fountain”, a “found art” urinal, was in the spirit of this movement. And it was in that same spirit that Swedish artist, Björn Kjelltoft urinated in the fountain while it was on display. Later artist, Pierre Pinoncelli took a hammer to the piece, chipping it before being arrested. Pinoncelli said that Duchamp would have appreciated the intervention. And he might have been right.

The Black Sheep

Damien Hirst, in 1994, was showing some of his famed “animals in glass.” (As you can imagine these get PETA's blood boiling.) This time he was showing a sheep in formaldehyde when an artist poured black dye into the art work, saying he was adding to it and that it would bring Hirst publicity. Hirst quickly prosecuted the “artist.”

The Kiss

Cornelia Parker intervened in Auguste Rodin's famed sculpture, The Kiss by wrapping it in string. This was an art intervention that was backed by the gallery, but it proved controversial nevertheless. She cut the string in a performance, while a crowd of couples kissed in a sea around her.

Detroit MONA goes KaBoom

The Detroit MONA sponsored an Art Intervention show in which attendees were invited to destroy art. This work could be seen as an inspired throw-back to the hey-days of dada. One infamous dada show supplied viewers with an axe and invited them to smash the works of art. The Detroit show was set to run for two months, but the entire show was demolished after the first night. Fires were set in empty wings and a wrecking ball that was on display had been dismantled and rolled into an instillation, also cracking into a nearby wall. The MONA's director said that in a way, the show was a wild success.

Whether you think art intervention is petty, immature vandalism or the living breathing art that is challenging us today, it does give one something to think about. I'm not sure that I can advise that you try this one at home, but let's say engage in this form of art at your own risk!