I saw the art of Phil Hansen for the first time last night, and it’s beyond amazing! See his work here: [link] and on his site, [link]

One series of his pieces, called “Goodbye Art,” feature him creating (at fast-forwarded speed) huge works of art using the most unlikely media – from french fries to candles to frozen wine, his work shows the potential for artistic symbol in everything – even chewed Starbucks pastries.
My family was wondering: why does this artist create such amazing works, then destroy them? He calls it “Goodbye Art,” emphasizing their transient nature – but when he can create such incredible pieces with any medium at hand, why does he then demolish them?
I was thinking about this, and figured out a few possibilities – I’m still not sure, as he leaves his work open to interpretation in his YouTube videos, but here’s some of the things I thought about:

First – everything he does expands our concept of art, what it is and what it can be:

- He creates from any medium, from frozen wine to fries to candles to Starbucks pastries to dirt to chalk on asphalt.

- He integrates several forms of media into each work, appealing to more than just the eyes, incorporating video, sound, and music into the presentation of each visual-arts piece.

- He films his entire work, recording the whole process as art rather than just the finished product – we see him at work, the process sped up on film so we can take in the act of creation, seeing the artist’s vision literally come together.

- All of his work is transient in some way, from the frozen wine which he carves into a face and then watches as it melts, to the intricate chalk patterns which are washed away by the next rain.

- Not only does this transient nature show how much of even classical art is temporary (even over centuries – think of the pieces that have been painted over, lost in fires, been forgotten, been destroyed by censors or others), but it also makes us wonder how much of “every-day art” we miss – art that is seen by far too few eyes, but created with just as much vision.

I went on Phil Hansen’s site, and interestingly, he posted a video showing a collage of his Goodbye Art, stating that he is now finished with that part of his career and plans to move on to more permanent works. Although he says he finds himself “with few words to say about” his decision, other than that it helped him “develop… ideas of medium,” I think his revolutionary works say so much already, by raising these kinds of questions in the viewers’ minds, expanding our definitions and concepts of art – and pretty much making our jaws drop off the floor

Here’s some of his awesome videos:

- Here, Phil takes on the Facebook “war on nipples” (controversy over women posting their breastfeeding photos by creating a nipple piece of his own – a giant face, made entirely from photos of mens’ nipples. [link]

- Here, Phil makes a bust of Jimi Hendrix entirely out of matches – and then sets it on fire. [link]

- Here, Phil creates a face entirely out of candles: [link]

- Here, he makes a high speed painting of Bruce Lee
[link]

- Here, he makes a portrait of McGuire out of baseballs and paint – and then sets it on fire!

- Here, he creates a portrait out of frozen wine. [link]