Activism and Fine Art
Activists have had the idea to target famous paintings, sculptures, and other works of art for decades. There are many famous examples of people trying to raise awareness for their causes by attacking artworks. Recently we’ve seen this same tactic being used around the world, let’s talk about it.
Let’s Start from the Beginning
On October 14, 2022, two young people entered London’s National Gallery. They wore jackets and made their way into the room where van Gogh’s Sunflowers is displayed. In full view of security, shocked museum-goers, and cameras they removed their jackets and threw what appeared to be a can of tomato soup on Sunflowers, then both of them knelt down on the floor and glued their hands to the wall under the painting.
Their t-shirts read “Just Stop Oil”. They were two protestors from the group called Just Stop Oil who were trying to draw attention to the climate crisis and the growing unaffordability of life in the UK. One of the activists, Phoebe Plummer, said “What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? More than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people? The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of the oil crisis, fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup” (Gayle, 2022).
The National Gallery quickly cleared the room and called the police and the two protesters were arrested. Shortly after the incident, the gallery released a statement saying that the painting was not damaged and there was only minor damage done to the frame but the glass protecting the canvas did its job.
On October 23, 2022, a man and a woman entered Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany. They walked calmly into one specific gallery and proceeded to smear mashed potatoes all over Grainstacks by Claude Monet. Same as in the previous incident, these two activists then glued their hands to the wall below the painting. One of the activists then shouted, “the world is in a climate catastrophe, and all you are afraid of is tomato soup or mashed potatoes in a painting” (Medina, 2022). Interestingly enough, they weren’t part of Just Stop Oil, instead, they are members of the German climate organization Letzte Generation (Last Generation).
A photograph of the protesters glued under the painting was posted to social media by Letzte Generation with the caption “Is anybody listening? We won’t be able to provide for our families. Countless people will die. These two people were locked up for warning. Those who continue to promote the climate emergency daily are at home with their families. If it takes a painting — thrown in mashed potatoes — for society to remember that fossil fuel course is killing us all: we’ll give you mashed potatoes on a painting!” (Machin, 2022).
Again, the museum cleared the room, phoned the police, and the two activists were taken into custody. Shortly after this incident, the museum released a statement saying that Grainstacks wasn’t harmed in any way.
On October 27, 2022, two men entered the Maritshuis Museum in Hauge, Netherlands (I’m sure you see a pattern forming here). They headed straight for Vermeer’s masterpiece Girl with a Pearl Earring. One man glued his shaven head to the glass covering the canvas while the other poured a can of soup over him and then glued his own hand to the wall beside the painting. Again, these men were members of Just Stop Oil, Belgium (which isn’t affiliated with Just Stop Oil England). One of them said to the onlookers, “How do you feel when you see something beautiful and priceless apparently being destroyed before your eyes? Do you feel outraged? Good. Where is that feeling when you see the planet being destroyed?” (Escalante-De Mattei, 2022). Honestly, good point.
Once again, they were arrested, and shortly after the museum said that the painting had sustained no damage.
Thoughts
I know that’s a lot to process. It may seem odd to think about targeting pieces of fine art to raise awareness for the climate or cost of living crises but I hope I can shed some light on that here. I also will acknowledge that there have absolutely been mixed reactions to these protests with a lot of people very upset with these activism groups. They don’t see this as a productive form of protest, they don’t think that enjoying a famous painting and caring about the environment are really related, and they don’t see what potentially damaging a masterpiece has to do with saving the planet. The activist groups argue that this is really the only way that they can get the attention of the public, they have tried other tactics, and this is an emergency. We won’t be able to enjoy these paintings if we destroy the planet and can no longer live here.
On that note, both Just Stop Oil and Letzte Generation have done other forms of protest in the past. For example, Just Stop Oil had been staging sit-down protests shutting down busy roads around London for two weeks before the initial Sunflowers incident. These protests involving famous pieces of art appear to be an escalation of their tactics. They didn’t feel like they were getting the attention or media coverage that this problem warranted so they changed their tactics, I don’t know about you but a month ago I had never heard of either of these organizations but now I have, and know what they stand for. So you can’t argue that it worked on that front.
Another thought that I’ve been hearing a lot is people are concerned for the safety of these priceless works of art. This is absolutely a valid concern, no one wants these paintings damaged. Including Just Stop Oil and Letzte Generation. They purposely chose paintings that had protective glass shields over the canvasses because damaging them was never the intention of these protests.
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said outside the National Gallery “Alienating people from the cause was a concern. But…we are not trying to make friends here, we are trying to make a change, and unfortunately, this is the way that change happens” (Gayle, 2022).
So considering that widespread attention was brought to both the climate crisis and the cost of living crisis and that none of the artworks were damaged what do you think about this form of activism?
Works Cited
Escalante-De Mattei, Shanti. “Climate Activist Attempts to Glue Head to Girl with a Pearl Earring”. ARTNews. 2022. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/climate-activist-attempts-to-glue-head-to-girl-with-a-pearl-earring-1234644651/
Gayle, Damien. “Just Stop Oil Activists Throw Soup at van Gogh’s Sunflowers”. The Guardian. 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/14/just-stop-oil-activists-throw-soup-at-van-goghs-sunflowers
Machin, Jennifer. “Climate Activists Vandalize Monet’s Grainstacks Painting with Mashed Potatoes”. Hypebae. 2022. https://hypebae.com/2022/10/climate-activists-protest-vandalize-claude-monet-grainstacks-painting-mashed-potatoes-museum
Medina, Eduardo. “Climate Activists Throw Mashed Potatoes on Monet Painting”. The New York Times. 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/23/arts/claude-monet-mashed-potatoes-climate-activists.html
“Protesters who Targeted Girl with a Pearl Earring Jailed by Dutch Court”. The Guardian. 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/02/just-stop-oil-protesters-who-targeted-girl-with-a-pearl-earring-jailed-by-dutch-court