APIC
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By KRISTI OLOFFSON Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010
The work had already been garlanded with praise by critics and friends. Ads had been published. The exhibition, set for May 1908, would feature the newest works from celebrated painter Claude Monet, the fruits of three years of labor.
Nevertheless, when the French Impressionist took one final look, he determined the paintings weren't good enough. Amid protests, the 68-year-old Monet took to the paintings — worth $100,000 in 1908 — with a knife and a paint brush, defacing them irrevocably. Ethics discussions broke out: Should an artist have the right to destroy his own work? At least one expert thought so and praised him for being a true artist rather than a manufacturer, telling the New York Times, "It is a pity, perhaps, that some other painters do not do the same."
I stumbled upon the article on Top 10 Art Accidents by TIME, and the 6th art accident caught my attention--- I like Claude Monet, and now I like him even more.
Not to say I damaged my paintings because of the same holy motive, I tore my remaining paintings into pieces and threw them away. The remaining paintings that are still survive until today are framed, and one of them was given to my brother as a birthday gift.
I hope the next time I destroy my painting, it would be because out of imperfection and not personal emo-rage anymore :)
