Climate change activists in Vancouver, Canada splashed maple syrup on Emily Carr’s 1934 painting Stumps and Sky yesterday, 14th November 2022.
This has been a part of a larger trend across the globe with climate change activists targeting artworks in various countries to bring attention to the exploitation of the environment by big corporates, overconsumption under capitalism, and global warming.
Other artworks have been targeted in recent months.
Just Stop Oil, an environment activist group committed to halting fossil fuel consumption and production based in the United Kingdom had thrown a cap of soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London.
A group of German environment activists called Leztze Generation or Last Generation protested against the German government’s refusal to act in response to climate change by throwing mashed potatoes on Les Meules by Claude Monet which has been valued at 96 million pounds.
In Barcelona, Spain, climate change activists threw slime at the Egyptian mummy replica as a response to the COP27 summit in Egypt which apparently accepted sponsorship from Coca-Cola, one of the leading plastic polluters in the world.
Activists from Stop Oil Exploration and Extinction Rebellion attempted to glue themselves to Edward Munch’s The Scream and Francisco Goya’s The Naked Maja and The Clothed Maja in museums in Oslo and Madrid respectively.
These are just a few instances in what seems like a new and radical wave in climate change activism which has garnered much attention from the media.
Divided Opinions.
Many netizens have criticized the protestors for “vandalizing” artworks and paintings. However, it must be noted that actual damage to paintings is rare since they are usually behind a protected layer like glass. Others have commented on the apparent futility of targeting paintings as they fail to see the correlation between art and climate change and view these acts as useless spectacles.
It must be noted that these activities have generated more media attention and press attention than any of the other protests organized to protest climate inaction. Climate change is a serious concern threatening the very existence of the human race and the ultimate fate of the planet. While there have been concerns that such radical action may alienate supporters rather than receive them, certain sections are coming in support of these activists as they see their actions as valid in the face of the urgency of the problem and the need for immediate systemic change. Jeff Sparrow writing for The Guardian said, “If you don’t like climate activists staging art gallery protests, organize something better.”
While the specific goals of the different activist groups differ, most agree that their singular aim is to draw attention to the climate crisis through acts of non-violent civil disobedience. There is no denying that it is becoming increasingly difficult to just ignore climate change protesters and it can be hoped that conversations around climate change would lead to policy changes that may ultimately save the planet.
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