Art vandalism or Disruptive Climate Action? Find out the Facts…

Art attack has been a buzzword in recent months after climate change activists continue to throw food items at world-famous paintings. The most recent incidents were reported on the 14th and 23rd of October, 2022. Two young climate protestors linked to the activist group “Just Stop Oil” desecrated Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic sunflowers painting with tomato soup, followed by mashed potato being thrown at one of Claude Monet’s paintings.

Andrew Doyle, a comedian, and writer from Northern Ireland, tweeted following these incidents, saying, “it represents a repudiation of civilization and the achievements of humanity.” as seen here  Archived. Moreover, some regarded these as criminal acts that damaged valuable art pieces.

What we found

We looked at several news reports and found that these paintings were minimally damaged and have been restored. The protective glass casings had kept the paintings unharmed, and frames had borne slight damages. The London National museum confirmed six hours after the tomato soup incident that “There is some minor damage to the frame, but the painting is unharmed.” Read more here, Archived. One of the activists involved in Van Gogh’s incident said, “We would never have considered doing it if we didn’t know it was behind glass.” Watch the full video below Archived.

@freeseednews #juststopoil #Activist says there was “minimal damage” to #vangogh #Sunflowers is she right or misguided? #vangoghsoup #climatechange #freeseednews ♬ original sound – FreeSeedNews

Moreover, the attack that occurred at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, German, was done by an organization named “Last Generation.” They classified the episode by saying, “Monet loved nature and captured its unique and fragile beauty in his works. How can it be that so many are more afraid of damage to one of these images of reality than they are of the destruction of our world itself, whose magic Monet so admired?” Read more here  Archived

The vandalism directed at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers masterpiece grabbed global attention in a series of attacks against works of art, the newest target for the most disruptive form of climate action. Additionally, two climate activists from the movement “Last Generation” threw mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in a museum in Germany to protest fossil fuel production this month. Furthermore, In July, protesters in Italy glued themselves to one of the paintings by Sandro Botticelli at a museum in Florence. Climate activists had also resorted to similar acts to one of Picasso’s artworks in Australia.

However, climate protestors, especially across Europe, resorting to creative methods to grab attention is nothing new. Art vandalism in the name of social causes goes back to 1914 when Mary Richardson, a radical suffragette, attacked Diego Velasquez’s Rokeby Venus, 1651, with a meat cleaver. Read about more similar incidents in the past here Archived.

Although several actions in the past may have permanently damaged these art pieces, it needs to be mentioned that during recent times, these attacks have taken place on painting protected with glass and left no damage. It sprouted from a movement of global youth activists challenging nations for a system change. The objective of these protests has been to create a discussion about climate justice and push for a system change.

The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to act (also called “Climate action”), addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Environmental nonprofit organizations have engaged in significant climate activism since the late 1980s and early 1990s as they sought to influence change. Climate activism has become increasingly prominent over time, gaining prominence during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP15) and particularly following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016. The movement has recently been characterized by mass mobilization and large-scale protests like the one organized by the People’s Climate Movement and September 2019 climate strikes. 

Youth Activism and involvement have played an essential part in the evolution of the movement after the growth of the Fridays for Future strikes started by Greta Thunberg in 2019.

The CFC Sri Lanka team interviewed a climate activist and coordinator of Extinction Rebellion Sri Lanka (XRLK), Avishka Sendanayake, regarding the recent global incidents. She mentioned that XR is a decentralized, international, and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. The movement is spread globally across 80+ countries, where each group operates locally against climate change and ecological destruction.

She also highlighted that, although XR has a set of values to unify the global movement, the type of actions taken are decided by the individual nations. Adding to that, she mentioned how XR India was shut down by the government due to civil disobedience, which was not tolerated.

XRLK was started after discussions among Youth who met at the first-ever Climate march in Sri Lanka with the participation of school students and other environmental activists in 2019. Ever since the movement has had numerous protests demanding climate justice over the years, she mentioned how some of these protests became successful due to the publicity gained. The protests conducted to push the government to pass the animal welfare bill was successful and currently, they are working on getting the authorities to enact the bill. Additionally, the protest done against “Ecocide” had become a great success due to the nationwide social media publicity and awareness created through it.

XRLK did not want to only focus on civil disobedience but pay more attention to creating awareness regarding the urgency of taking climate action, says Avishka. She elaborated on the lack of knowledge regarding climate change and its impacts on citizens in the country. Furthermore, she highlighted how the movement in Sri Lanka always considers the consequences of their actions on the planet, economy, and society before moving forward. Accordingly, it was always necessary to obtain approvals from the authorities before organizing climate protests and strikes.

Finally, she mentioned that the ultimate goal of XRLK is to push for a system change, not in a law-breaking manner but from an advisory perspective, to help the government take the necessary actions against climate change and its impacts.

Also Read: Are Climate Activists Hysterical?