The "readymade" and destruction in art

In this discussion, artists Christian Marclay and Cornelia Parker RA – with historians Professor Dario Gamboni and Dr Ros Holmes – discuss the impact of the “readymade” and the destructive process in art, as seen in the work of Ai Weiwei.

Many of the strategies that Ai Weiwei employs as an artist can be easily aligned within the legacy of iconoclasm and the notion of art under attack. Works such as Dropping a Han-Dynasty Urn (pictured below), Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola Logo and Kippe all possess an action or process by the artist which subverts the original visual representation and meaning of an object.