The Role of Destruction in Art
The role of destruction in art
Rhythm is the basis of life, not steady forward progress. The forces of creation, destruction, and preservation have a whirling, dynamic interaction.
Kabb.allah
In the Kabb.allah school of thought, it is believed that the forces of creation and destruction are the rhythm of life. They are interacting with each other all the time. Creation and destruction are two terms which have always been together. Without destruction, creation does not mean, and without creation destruction would not mean anything. Many religions have stressed the important role of creation and destruction in the universe. Specifically in Hindu religion, it is believed that the universe is created, destroyed and recreated in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. There is a pentagram in the classical Chinese Wu Xing which is used to explain the dynamics of nature in the “creation” and “destruction” of the elements. The five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal) are arranged in a circle to show the “creation cycle”. Water creates wood by growing trees. Wood creates fire. Fire creates earth by transforming ash to earth. Earth creates metal, which is why metal is mined from the earth. Metal creates water (condensation of water on metal). Using the same arrangement of the five elements, there is another way to connect them. This is the “destruction cycle”. Water destroys fire. Fire destroys metal by melting it. Metal destroys wood by cutting it. Wood destroys earth by displacing it and absorbing it with its roots. Earth destroys water by absorbing or channeling it. (We can also have another interpretation for the creation and the destruction processes. They are transforming each other, so transformation can be a kind of destruction. We can say, they are not destroyed, they are just transformed. Fire transforms metal by melting it. Metal which is melted can have a new possibility of becoming solid metal.) In modern scientific theories, these
Rhythm is the basis of life, not steady forward progress. The forces of creation, destruction, and preservation have a whirling, dynamic interaction.
Kabb.allah
In the Kabb.allah school of thought, it is believed that the forces of creation and destruction are the rhythm of life. They are interacting with each other all the time. Creation and destruction are two terms which have always been together. Without destruction, creation does not mean, and without creation destruction would not mean anything. Many religions have stressed the important role of creation and destruction in the universe. Specifically in Hindu religion, it is believed that the universe is created, destroyed and recreated in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. There is a pentagram in the classical Chinese Wu Xing which is used to explain the dynamics of nature in the “creation” and “destruction” of the elements. The five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal) are arranged in a circle to show the “creation cycle”. Water creates wood by growing trees. Wood creates fire. Fire creates earth by transforming ash to earth. Earth creates metal, which is why metal is mined from the earth. Metal creates water (condensation of water on metal). Using the same arrangement of the five elements, there is another way to connect them. This is the “destruction cycle”. Water destroys fire. Fire destroys metal by melting it. Metal destroys wood by cutting it. Wood destroys earth by displacing it and absorbing it with its roots. Earth destroys water by absorbing or channeling it. (We can also have another interpretation for the creation and the destruction processes. They are transforming each other, so transformation can be a kind of destruction. We can say, they are not destroyed, they are just transformed. Fire transforms metal by melting it. Metal which is melted can have a new possibility of becoming solid metal.) In modern scientific theories, these