Artist Plans to Destroy Rodin’s Masterpiece ‘The Kiss’

PARIS -

Briton Herman Bean, contemporary artist and art professor has put the Musee Rodin in Paris on notice, releasing a statement that claims he plans to destroy one of Rodin’s classical sculptures “La Baisee” with a sledgehammer and is inviting important figures in the art world to partake.

Professor Bean is part of a new contemporary art movement called “New Imaginism” to be launched later this year. The form eschews the reliance on the physical representation of established artwork and he has vowed to create “better, more intimate, more real art” that people will cherish forever in their hearts and minds, rather than art/craft which can easily be reproduced in factories in Asia.

On becoming “incredibly depressed” at seeing this great work “lonely and unloved in the garden of the Musee Rodin” on a cold winters day, Bean made his decision to turn “The Kiss” into rubble.

Bean said: “Creation is destruction” when questioned about his intentions. “Like the experience of the death of a loved one, we only realise what we have lost when it’s gone. Once ‘The Kiss’ is smashed into thousands of pieces and is destroyed - we will love and appreciate it, and art as a form, even more. As a symbolic archetype of forbidden love, it should not be forgotten in an old, cold French garden.

“With the pain and passions inflamed around its destruction, I aim to burn the aesthetic beauty and memory of this work into our collective imagination forever.”

Artists before Bean have destroyed or defaced other artist’s works and objects. Most recently, contemporary artist Maurizio Cattelan has slowly and excruciatingly destroyed new cars with large rocks in public performances. Events of this scale are often staged to make a significant impact with the audience, both present to witness the destruction, as well as for those who experience art through mass media.

The destruction of “The Kiss” is part of a series of “artworks” called the “Making Art History” series that will launch the New Imaginist art movement later in the year. Although the official VIP launch is off limits to the public, there are a few invitations still available for the Special Preview at their website at: www.NewImaginism.com

For more on Herman Bean and the New Imaginist movement - visit www.newimaginism.com or contact Anthony Fawcett on +44-8715-033-661

Source: New Imaginism

Anthony Fawcett of New Imaginism, +44-8715-033-661