Ivor Davies's Exploding Art

Ivor Davies, eminence grise of interesting Welsh art, is probably best known for being a mover and shaker at the Destruction in Art Symposium of 1966. There he worked with Yoko Ono and old chum Gustav Metzger, amongst others. Davies is often acknowledged as being the first person to systematically use explosives in art. His exploding collages had, of course, a transformational dimension but they also to some degree parodied military practices. As well as blowing stuff up during DIAS week he read a Destructivism Manifesto written especially for the event. Above you can see before and after images of one of his exploding artworks.

*Photo is ©Marvin Lichtner/Getty Images.