When Art and Activism Collide

On October 14, the shocked and horrified exclamations of onlookers could be heard as a bright orange liquid substance dripped from Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting. In the seconds that followed, a museum-goer could be heard emotionally calling for security while two young individuals—the words “Just Stop Oil” displayed across their shirts—crouched on the floor, smeared glue on their hands, and promptly glued themselves to the wall.

Then, in a loud projected voice, the words “What is worth more, art or life?”  echoed throughout London’s famed National Gallery.

Similar words were echoed nine days later in Germany’s Museum Barberini, when mashed potatoes were splashed on Monet's Les Meules; and most recently in the Netherlands’ Mauritshuis Museum when a protester, inspired by the former two protests, attempted to glue their head to Johannes Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring painting. 

Despite all paintings involved in these stunts being behind glass and remaining unharmed, the individuals, Just Stop Oil, and Last Generations—the environmental activist groups responsible for organizing these stunts—received considerable backlash and scrutiny for their actions and from financial backers. In response, the organizations repeatedly reiterated that their demonstrations were acts of civil disobedience meant to garner attention as a means to compel their respective governments to stop future licensing and production of fossil fuels.

The resulting discourse has been mixed however as many, both against and for, climate activism have criticized the tactic used by the protesters for being poorly executed and distractionary. Others, conversely, have argued that any attention is good attention when it comes to bringing consistent awareness to an urgent issue such as climate change—especially since public attention on particular issues quickly wanes before it can inspire concrete policy actions. (Recall, a climate protester died this past March after setting himself on fire at the steps of the Supreme Court on Earth Day—a protest that elicited little public discussion on climate change.)

I’d like to offer an alternative perspective and lens for examining these recent climate protests. These demonstrations are perhaps emblematic of a result of two recurring issues within climate activism as a whole. The first can be best understood through listening to the words of the protesters themselves. In the demonstration in the Netherlands, the protester asked the audience, “How does it feel when you see something beautiful and priceless being apparently destroyed before your eyes?” This line of inquiry is illustrative of the helpless feeling many young environmentalists contend with when learning of the damage done to the planet thanks to irresponsible human activity and greed. This feeling of helplessness can then lend itself to the actions one takes and the intentionality and thoughtfulness behind said actions. The execution and delivery of the recent art climate protests in Europe highlight a lack of truly intersectional approaches when it comes to climate advocacy, for activists representing those that are most affected and at the forefront of experiencing the negative impacts of climate change (the BIPOC community in which a majority of the world's population resides) were not consulted or considered in the planning of these demonstrations, and would not positively or materially be impacted by protesters across Europe defacing art.

But perhaps these demonstrations were the beginning steps, as they have successfully achieved the goal of encouraging conversation in and across communities—conversations that must continue and result in concrete action.