THE DESTRUCTIVE CHARACTER

Dick Raaijmakers

Vincent W. J. van Gerven (Ed.)

The Destructive Character by the Dutch composer, multimedia artist and theorist Dick Raaijmakers (b. 1930) is a commentary on an essay from 1931 by Walter Benjamin bearing the same title and included. In his reaction, Raaijmakers focuses on the fact that the destructive character knows of only one activity: clearing away. Through a series of telling examples—from Fluxus and Glenn Gould to Laurel and Hardy, John Cage, and his own work—Raaijmakers discusses the characteristics and the peculiarities of the destructive character inside and outside the arts. The Destructive Character makes us understand that every destruction also implies a new beginning.

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