Museums and galleries across Europe have heightened their vigilance and carefully guarded their collections of famous paintings. They're not wary of art thieves, they're climate activists.
On October 27, local time, at the Mauritais Royal Gallery in The Hague, the Netherlands, another world-famous painting was "attacked". A climate activist glued his head to the "head" of "Girl with a Pearl Earring." Amid the onlookers' scolding, another activist next to him said to the onlookers, "Angry? That's how it feels when the earth is destroyed before our eyes."
Recently, climate activists have repeatedly "attacked" famous paintings to attract attention, using "tools of crime" such as cakes, mashed potatoes, tomato soup and glue to "commit crimes" across Europe. Famous paintings, including Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and Van Gogh's "Sunflowers", were tragically "poisoned". While netizens and art circles are voicing anger, a growing number of climate activists are following suit.
"The Girl with the Pearl Earring" "attacked"
British television station TalkTV posted a video of the "attack" of the girl with a pearl earring on social media.
In the video, a "bald" man crosses the security line and applies glue to his head, gluing his head to the "head" of the girl in the painting. Another "accomplice" opened a metal can, poured a red, viscous liquid suspected of being tomato soup on the "bald-headed" man, and glued one of his hands to the wall next to the frame. The two then stripped off their coats to reveal short-sleeved shirts with the words "Just Stop Oil" written on them.
After these actions, one of the men began to give a "speech": "How do you feel when something beautiful and priceless is destroyed before your eyes? Angry? "That's how it feels when the Earth is destroyed before our eyes." "Don't worry about the painting, it's protected by glass. Think of the people of the Global South, who are not protected. The future of our children is not protected. The poor, too, are not protected. ”
Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Photo/Visual China
The exclamations and sighs of many onlookers were heard at the scene. People shouted, "What stupid thing is this doing? "Shame on you," "Shut up," "Get out," "Morally degraded." In the meantime, a security guard stepped forward and tried to pull the "bald" man away, but when the man showed the glue in his hand, the security guard let go.
This absurd scene has to do with the British climate activist group Just Stop Oil. Stop Petroleum was founded in the UK to demand that the UK government stop approving all new fossil fuel extraction, development and processing projects. The organization has grown rapidly, and its activities have expanded from the United Kingdom to the European continent.
According to Fortune magazine, a spokesman for Stop Oil denied that the protest was initiated by the group in response to the "attack on the girl with a pearl earring," but the organization supported such protests. "If we don't stop using fossil fuels, no one will be able to continue to appreciate these famous paintings." The spokesman said.
The Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 1665 oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter Vermeer. The painting depicts a young girl dressed in brightly colored costumes and wearing earrings with an oversized pearl.
CNN's 2019 selection of "Top Ten Famous Paintings in the World" included "Girl with a Pearl Earring", which is as famous as Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa".
The Mauritais Royal Gallery in the Netherlands has been collecting Girl with a Pearl Earring since 1902. The museum issued a statement on October 27 that after inspection, the painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was not damaged under the protection of glass. The exhibition hall on display of the painting is temporarily closed and will reopen at an optional date.
At the end of the statement, the Mauritice Royal Gallery said harshly: "Artworks are defenseless and we firmly oppose attempts to destroy works of art for any purpose." A Dutch police statement said three men in their 40s had been arrested in the incident on charges of "destruction of property."
In response, Dutch Deputy Minister of Culture Gunay Uslu said via social media that although demonstrations are everyone's right, please do not attack the common cultural heritage of mankind, and attacking fragile works of art is not the right thing to do.
World-famous paintings targeted by climate activists
Recently, climate activist organizations in Europe have set their sights on the famous paintings displayed in art galleries and museums.
On October 14, at the National Gallery in London, two members of Stop Oil Extraction sprinkled tomato soup on Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" in the United Kingdom.
On October 23, at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany, two members of the "Last Generation" group, a youth organization of climate activists in Germany, threw mashed potatoes at Monet's work "Haystack."
On October 14, 2022 local time, London, England, two activists poured tomato soup on Van Gogh's work "Sunflowers". Photo/Visual China
Earlier, at the Louvre Museum in Paris, a male climate activist disguised himself as an elderly woman in a wheelchair to get through security checks suddenly pulled out a piece of cake and threw it at Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, shouting, "Care about the planet." ”
Not only that, galleries and museums in Glasgow, Scotland, Florence, the Vatican and other places have been "vandalized" or harassed by climate activists.
Why do climate activists target these paintings? Many have raised such questions.
One obvious reason is to "cause attention". Whether it was "Mona Lisa" being thrown into the cake or "Sunflower" being poured with tomato soup, these events became sensational news for a while.
According to the Smithsonian magazine, Phoebe Plummer, a 21-year-old British female climate activist who poured soup on Sunflowers, said: "The problem is not to pour soup on Van Gogh's work, the problem is to draw attention to climate change" "Why is the UK government's subsidy for fossil energy 30 times that of renewable energy?" Why......? ”
Climate activists have also defended such actions, saying that the paintings are protected by glass and that the paintings themselves have not been damaged in all the "attacks" to date, except for minor damage to the frames in a few cases. A spokesman for Stop Oil said: "We are just pouring soup on the glass to get attention." ”
In this regard, some people in the art world are worried that such attacks on artworks continue to attract the attention of the Internet and the media, and more and more people will follow suit, which may trigger more crazy moves and cause substantial damage to artworks.
Climate extremism is controversial
After famous paintings were "attacked" one after another, netizens and many people in the literary and artistic circles "exploded". Some netizens left a message below the video of "Sunflower" being splashed with tomato soup, "Discipline your children well, otherwise they will become like this." Many people in the arts community say climate activists are asked to stay away from art.
Tracy Chevrolet, an American writer who used Vermeer's paintings as inspiration for the novel of the same name, "Girl with a Pearl Earring," said she could understand the frustration of climate activists, but she hoped that climate activists would choose protest targets that were more climate- or environmentally relevant. "For me, watching the painting being destroyed was like seeing my daughter under attack." She said.
According to The New York Times, Stephen Duncombe, co-founder of the Center for Artistic Activism, a nonprofit with extensive experience in social movements, said he questioned the effectiveness of the strategy of "attacking" famous paintings.
London, UK, October 14, 2022 local time, climate activists blocked the road in front of New Scotland Yard, calling on the British government to stop issuing oil and gas licenses. Photo/Visual China
"[Such acts] are about the madness of throwing food at artworks, not about the impact of fossil fuels on the planet." "What you're seeing is climate activists doing crazy things, is that really helpful for the climate movement?" Dunkum said. ”
Olaf Zimmermann, executive director of the German Cultural Council, said in a statement that cultural heritage needs to be protected as much as the climate, and that it is clearly wrong to attack cultural heritage in order to call attention to climate change.
Art critic Philip Kennicott acknowledged that such attacks on art left him in a dilemma, writing in The Washington Post, "Throwing tomato soup on a Van Gogh painting doesn't make me more passionate about saving our planet or think more pragmatically about how to do it." ”
But Kennecutt twisted, "I can understand the thoughts of these young people, who go there when they face their own 'destruction,' and say: Stop destroying everything around us." "When activists 'attacked' Van Gogh's Sunflowers, they were affirming the power of the painting."
It is worth mentioning that European activists seem to have historically been keen to target famous paintings.
In 1914, a women's suffrage activist named Mary Richardson walked into the National Gallery and slashed at Spanish painter Velázquez's "Venus in the Mirror" several times, damaging the world-famous painting.
Richardson, who claimed to have vandalized "Venus in the Mirror" in protest against the arrest of another suffragette activist, was subsequently jailed for six months for vandalism, but was released after weeks after a hunger strike in prison. "Venus in front of the mirror" was restored and re-exhibited. In addition, Picasso's famous painting Guernica has also been vandalized by activists.
Beijing News reporter Chen Yikai
Editor Liu Xixian Proofreader Li Lijun