Gustav Metzger

Gustav Metzger was an artist and political activist who developed the concept of Auto-Destructive Art and the Art Strike. Together with John Sharkey, he initiated the Destruction in Art Symposium in 1966. As a Polish child born in Germany, Metzger lost nearly his entire family to the holocaust. He and his older brother were able to flee to England in 1939 with the help of the Refugree Children Movement. While in Englad Metzger studied art at the Cambridge School of Art and the Sir John Cass Institute. During the 1950's Metzger co-founded an antiwar protest group with philosopher Bertrand Russel, and would actively protest against nuclear armament. 

Directly influenced by the political and ecological themese of his era, Metzger developed the concept of auto-destructive art. He developed his first manifesto in which he defined this as a "form of public art for industrial societies" that focuses on the 20th century's potental for annihilation due to self-destructive elements. He staged many politically engaged works and actions that incorporated materials ranging from trash to old newspapers, liquid crystals to industrial materials, and even acid. in 1966 Metzger organized a seminal artistic event with activities that ranged around the theme of destruction called the Destruction in Art Symposium. His work was viewed as an attack on the capitalist art market and the commodification of art. 

From 1948 on, he was represented at a number of major exhibitions, including Documenta 5 and 13, and also at the Venice Biennale in 2004. He died in London in 2017.