Climate campaigners targeting masterpieces around the world are not fully aware of the delicacy of the artworks, the directors of nearly 100 galleries have warned, saying they have been “deeply shaken” by the attacks .
This year, famous works of art have been attacked by protesters from various activist groups calling for action against the climate crisis. Incidents include a German environmental group throwing mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in a museum in Potsdam, Just Stop Oil activists throwing tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s sunflowers at the National Gallery in London, a group splashing pea soup over a Van Gogh masterpiece. in Rome, Extinction Rebellion activists targeting a Picasso painting in Melbourne and activists latching onto artworks by Botticelli, Boccioni, Van Gogh and other old masters.
Most recently, on Wednesday, two protesters from the group Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies dragged Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans into the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
“In recent weeks, there have been several attacks on works of art in international museum collections. The activists responsible severely underestimate the fragility of these irreplaceable objects, which must be preserved as part of our world cultural heritage,” the gallery and museum directors wrote in a joint statement posted online.
“As museum directors who have entrusted us with the care of these works, we have been deeply shocked by their dangerous danger.
“Museums are places where people of different origins can dialogue and, therefore, allow social discourse,” the statement continues. “In this sense, the basic tasks of the museum as an institution – collecting, researching, sharing and preserving – are now more relevant than ever. We will continue to defend direct access to our cultural heritage. And we will maintain the museum as a free space for social communication”.
The statement was co-signed by almost 100 directors of high-profile institutions, many of whom have already come under fire from activists.
Among the signatories are the heads of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York; the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Gallery in London; the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Italy; the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Center Pompidou and the Musée National Picasso-Paris in France; and the Prado National Museum and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain.
Climate activists target Andy Warhol’s soup cans at Canberra art gallery: video
Until now, most galleries have remained closed after the attacks, not wanting to draw attention to themselves or their security protocols. After the defacement of Warhol’s work in Canberra, a spokesman for the National Gallery of Australia said: “The National Gallery does not wish to promote these actions and has no further comment.”
None of the works targeted have had lasting damage as many are covered by glass. Climate activists are apparently targeting the most famous works not to damage them, but to draw media attention to the lasting damage of the climate crisis.
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During the attack on Van Gogh’s sunflowers in London, Just Stop Oil protesters shouted: “What is worth more? Art or life? Worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about protecting a picture or the protection of our planet and our people?
Last Generation, the German environmental group behind the attack on the Monet painting, echoed the sentiment in a later post, asking: “What is more valuable, art or life?”
The American organization supporting the Just Stop Oil protests, the Climate Emergency Fund, has promised that protests will continue in Europe and the United States.
“More protests are coming, this is a fast-growing movement, and the next two weeks will be, I expect, the most intense period of climate action yet,” said Margaret Klein Salamon, executive director of the Climate Emergency Fund. “So buckle up.”