The Destruction in Art Symposium (DIAS) was an international event held in London in 1966. Gustav Metzger was one of its main organizers, working with the Irish poet John Sharkey. More than fifty artists, scientists, poets, and thinkers from Europe and the United States took part, and destruction was discussed not only as physical damage, but also as a concept in psychoanalysis, science, and education. In this context, DIAS helped establish destruction as a creative and analytical category, opening a path for art to engage with the deeper psychology of society and with institutional violence.
The symposium is associated with Fluxus and Viennese Actionism. Yoko Ono and Al Hansen participated from Fluxus, while Günter Brus and Otto Muehl were involved from Viennese Actionism. Ono performed Cut Piece, and the extreme body performances of Brus and Muehl caused shock in British society. During the symposium, a performance by Hermann Nitsch was stopped by the police, and Metzger and Sharkey appeared in court on charges of obscenity.