Edited by Sabine Breitwieser for the Generali Foundation, Vienna 2005.
Foreword by Dietrich Karner, editorial by Sabine Breitwieser, essays by Justin Hoffmann, Gustav Metzger, Kristine Stiles and Andrew Wilson.

Engl., 310 pages, 35 color and 150 b&w illustrations, Softcover

Gustav Metzger, born in Nuremberg in 1926, has had an unmistakeably radical and revolutionary approach to art since the early 1960s. His artistic production is firmly rooted in the political, economic, and ecological issues of the day. His manifestos and demonstrations, for example, were a reaction to the massive threat posed by the nuclear arms race.

Metzger’s aesthetic concept, Auto-Destructive Art, addresses the twentieth century’s destructive potential and is intended as a direct attack on both the capitalist system and the art industry.

This monograph offers the first comprehensive overview of Metzger’s œuvre. Included are also his more recent works, such as the series Historic Photographs, which are direct links to Metzger’s experience as a Holocaust survivor. A detailed chronology outlines the artist’s activi-ties within the historical and political context in which they originated. Thus, for the first time, tribute is paid to Metzger not only as an artist, but also as an activist.