I don't believe that the artist's wishes should always win out. We would have lost Kafka if his wishes were followed.
I don't believe copyright should always win out. We nearly lost Nosferatu.
As for ownership? We lost a wonderful portrait of Churchill because it displeased his wife.
There are countless lost works - late Sibelius, a ton of Brahms, Bacon and Monet paintings. History judges such things severely.
Unless you believe in a specific variant of life-after-death then an artist's wishes only carry moral weight whilst they are still around. Destruction has effects that last forever.
I don't believe copyright should always win out. We nearly lost Nosferatu.
As for ownership? We lost a wonderful portrait of Churchill because it displeased his wife.
There are countless lost works - late Sibelius, a ton of Brahms, Bacon and Monet paintings. History judges such things severely.
Unless you believe in a specific variant of life-after-death then an artist's wishes only carry moral weight whilst they are still around. Destruction has effects that last forever.