ABOUT THIS PROJECT

The purpose of this project is to present works of art that depict the damage caused by iconoclasm due to war termination or general conflict. The project will further show how works of art after the event are often modified to fit into new standards due to censorship. Future plans for this site include featured exhibits that show content related to images of artwork destroyed from iconoclasm. The hope for the War and Art Project is that by educating the public of the cultural loss from the destruction of art, action will be taken to prevent such acts which result in the loss of cultural heritage of a  nation. 

The author of this project believes that by showing the vast number of artwork destroyed and the cultural impact these losses have had on society, the public will respond with a resolution to prevent these acts of destruction in the future.

This project seeks to open a dialog about how best to preserve cultural heritage that might be considered controversial. Regardless of the controversial nature of a work of art, expressions provided through art are important to history because they explain the culture of a society in its time and can be used to promote wisdom, sensitivity, and knowledge for future generations. Art teaches us about the past so that we can be better citizens in the future.

The focus of this project is to present facts and evidence of the destruction of art such as occurred during the Dutch Beeldenstorm and its effect on artistic culture. What this project will not do is present an opinion or facts regarding conflicts or details of war. The goal of the project is to put art and its destruction collectively into one location for the general public in order to educate, display, and hopefully highlight the impact. Along with photos (if available), a thorough description and analysis of the destroyed work will be presented. In addition, this project will also highlight the loss of cultural artistic heritage when expression is constricted and artists are censored or forced to conform. Examples of how citizens are affected because of the loss of cultural expression will also be noted. This project seeks to educate the public about this important issue and, hopefully, provide a collection for reference to aid in future study of art and war termination.