This year, famous works of art were attacked by protesters from various activist groups demanding action on the climate crisis. Incidents include a German environmental group throwing mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in a Potsdam museum, Just Stop Oil activists throwing tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London, a soup-splashing group pea in 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 scrawled over Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup cans at 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 grossly underestimate the fragility of these irreplaceable objects, which must be preserved as part of our global cultural heritage,” the gallery and museum directors wrote in a joint statement posted online. “As museum directors entrusted with the care of these works, we are deeply shocked by their perilous danger. “Museums are spaces where people from a wide variety of backgrounds can engage in dialogue and therefore enable social discourse,” the statement continues. “In this sense, the core tasks of the museum as an institution – collection, research, sharing and preservation – are now more relevant than ever. We will continue to support 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 nearly 100 high-profile foundation directors, many of whom have already been targeted by activists. Signatories include 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 Peggy Guggenheim collection in Italy. the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Center Pompidou and the Musée National Picasso-Paris in France; and the Museo Nacional del Prado and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. Climate activists target Andy Warhol’s soup cans at Canberra art gallery – video Until now, most galleries remained tight-lipped after the attacks, not wanting to draw attention to them or their security protocols. After the Warhol work was vandalized 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 projects targeted had permanent damage as many are covered in glass. Climate activists seem to be targeting the most famous projects not to damage them, but to draw media attention to the lasting damage of the climate crisis. Get our weekly pop culture email delivered free to your inbox every Friday Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. During the attack on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in London, Just Stop Oil protesters chanted: “What is worth more? Art or life? Is it worth more than the food? Is it worth more than justice? Are you more concerned with protecting a painting or protecting the planet and our people?’ Last Generation, the German environmental group behind the attack on the Monet painting, echoed the sentiment in a post afterward, asking: “What is worth more, art or life?” The American organization supporting the Just Stop Oil protests, the Climate Emergency Fund, has promised that protests will continue across Europe and the US. “More protests are coming, this is a rapidly growing movement, and the next two weeks will hopefully be the most intense period of climate action yet,” said Margaret Klein Salamon, executive director of the Climate Emergency Fund. “So shine.”
