Gustav Metzger (10 April 1926, Nuremberg – 1 March 2017, London) was a stateless 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.
Metzger was recognised for his protests in the political and artistic realms.
Early life and education
Metzger was born to Polish Jewish parents in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1926 and came to Britain in 1939 He lost his Polish citizenship and was stateless since the late 1940s. He received a grant from the UK Jewish community to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp between 1948 and 1949.
Metzger became a vegetarian in 1944 and remained a strong advocate of vegetarianism throughout his life. He was among the first to take a stand against environmental pollution and nuclear proliferation. and the Art Strike movements. He was also active in the Committee of 100 - a 'named' member
In 1959, Metzger published the first auto-destructive manifesto Auto-Destructive Art. This was given as a lecture to the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in 1964, which was taken over by students as an artistic 'Happening'. The Architectural Association published, in 2015, a facsimile edition of Metzger's lecture transcript. In 1962 he participated in the Festival of Misfits organised by members of the Fluxus group, at Gallery One, London. Guitarist Pete Townshend from The Who studied with Metzger, and during the 1960s, Metzger's work was projected on screens at The Who concerts. Metzger also worked with Cream, providing them with light shows in the 1960s.
In 2005, he selected EASTinternational which he proclaimed to be "The art exhibition without the art."
Throughout the 60 years that Metzger produced politically engaged works, he incorporated materials ranging from trash to old newspapers, liquid crystals to industrial materials, and even acid."
From 29 September to 8 November 2009, the Serpentine Gallery featured the most extensive exhibition in the UK of his work. He lived and worked in East London.
Works
Public Demonstration of Auto-Destructive Art
This was originally made in 1960 and remade as Recreation of First Public Demonstration of Auto-Destructive Art in 2004.