Environmental protestors were arrested on Friday for tossing tomato soup onto Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers painting at London’s National Gallery. The painting, luckily, was covered by a protective glass panel, and only the frame sustained minimal damage.
The two young women were representing the group named on their t-shirts, Just Stop Oil, whose mission is to halve the U.K.’s usage of and dependence on fossil fuels. “Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?” one of the women asked, as she literally glued her hand to the gallery wall.
Damaging astronomically valuable artworks as protest over political and social issues is nothing new. It’s a surefire way to get people’s attention. You’re certainly going to get a docent to furiously ruffle their beret.
Of course, the risk of protesting within an art museum is that the protest itself might be construed as a work of art itself—and in many ways, it is. What is a protest if not political theater? Having grown up with two parents who taught at art schools, I’ve sat through more than my fair share of lengthy discussions critiquing art of all kinds. So, without further ado, taking what I’ve learned from those formative experiences: Here are my critiques of various art vandalism protests, based on effectiveness, creativity and effort.
Concept: Two protestors toss tomato soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and then super-glue their hands to the gallery walls, before shouting their creed.
Critique: The drama was there, and I appreciate the two acts of the performance: throwing the soup and gluing the hands. However the delivery of the second act faltered in actuality. I could sense the protestors’ nervousness as they applied glue to their hands, notably after throwing the paint, which needlessly rushed the gluing process. If they were to perform this again, I’d love to see the glue applied more confidently and perhaps before throwing the soup, assuming they could do so without inadvertently gluing the soup cans to their hands. Smacking their sticky hands onto the wall immediately after triumphantly throwing the soup would be the emphatic punctuation this act of protest deserves.
Concept: Earlier this year DaVinci’s Mona Lisa (a common target for protest) was smeared with a cake by a man disguised as an old woman in a wheelchair. When he got close to the artwork, he threw the cake and yelled, “Think of the Earth, people are destroying the Earth!”
Critique: The costuming—dark wig, hat, red scarf—that the protestor donned to disguise himself as an elderly museum patron is ingenious. It forced us all to ask, “Who do we expect to enjoy art?” And is that very different from, “Who do we expect to smear cake on art?” The bait and switch was riveting, although I think the protest could have benefitted from a more succinct final line. A call to action beyond just, “Think.”
Concept: In 2009, a Russian woman, frustrated by her inability to obtain French citizenship, took matters into her own hands by throwing a mug at the Mona Lisa. The painting was unharmed behind its bulletproof barrier, but the mug, which the woman had bought in the museum gift shop, shattered.
Critique: Attempting to destroy a piece in the Louvre with a piece you bought in the Louvre: really fantastic. It speaks to the cannibalistic nature of the art world. However, I think that the motive behind the act—showcasing the labyrinthine and tortuous paths to citizenship—is ultimately disconnected from the act, itself, detracting from the message.
Concept: In 1914, suffragist Mary Richardson took a meat cleaver to the Diego Velázquez painting The Toilet of Venus in protest of fellow suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst’s arrest. When asked why she slashed the painting seven times, she said, “I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs. Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history.” In an interview years later, she added that she did not appreciate “the way men visitors gaped at it all day long.”
Critique: I commend this protest performance’s choice of tool and the protestor’s confession with undertones of intense sapphic longing. Very tortured! I would say, however, that the anger about men gaping at this painting all day long isn’t connected to your friend’s arrest, even if both bothered you. I’d have left out that superfluous comment.
Concept: Miami artist Maximo Caminero dropped one of famous protest artist Ai WeiWei’s $1 million ceramic urns, as WeiWei is pictured doing behind the urns, in an act of “spontaneous protest.” He told the Miami New Times that he did it “for all the local artists in Miami that have never been shown in museums here.”
Critique: First of all, we have to love life imitating art. WeiWei smashes the urn; Caminero smashes the urn. Perfect. But, while I understand his frustration of not celebrating local artists enough, I am not sure that this will get his own opening more than it will just get him a lot of attention—though that does seem to be the common goal in all of these.
Concept: Artist Nan Goldin is a leader of the group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), which is comprised of other artists and people living with addiction that targets Big Pharma. Specifically, they’ve been focused on the Sackler family (major donors within the art world) and the institutions that have accepted the family’s money. PAIN has staged numerous “die-ins” at museums like the Guggenheim and Louvre.
Critique: Dramatic, consequential, and actually taking place at institutions they are critiquing, these PAIN protests are effective! Plus, getting to lie down while protesting? Doesn’t get better than that.
Concept: A twelve year old boy walking past Flowers by Paolo Porpora at an art museum in Taipei, tripped over the rope barrier, and punched a hole in the $1.5 million painting. His small first was also holding a soft drink, but it doesn’t seem as if he spilled anything from the lidded drink. He looks absolutely terrified after he realizes what he’s done.
Critique: Allegedly this was not an act of protest and instead was an “accident.” Alright, sure wink wink. I like to think this tween knew exactly what he was doing and the entire performance was a commentary on the new generation’s shrinking attention span. His acting was superb, incredibly realistic.
Concept: In 2012 a man punched a hole into this Monet painting and told authorities it was to “get back at the state.” It was later discovered that he had a can of paint stripper in his bag, as well.
Critique: I love the hidden and unused paint stripper as a way to say, “I possess more of a threat than you’ve seen today.” But I have to say that the motive is too vague. What is “getting back at the state” supposed to entail, exactly? My recommendation would be to announce a clearer and more concrete enemy.
Concept: Around since the 1980s, the Guerrilla Girls are a group of masked women artists who’ve protested at a number of museums and institutions against the lack of representation of women artists and artists of color in museums. The group of around 100 anonymous artists expanded to protest broader social issues in recent years.
Critique: Incredible costumes? Check! Excellent visuals? Check! The Guerrilla Girls have shed light on serious inequalities in the art world with a bit of humor without harming any artwork or people. The anonymity and continuity of the protests add a level of intrigue from which all performances pieces could benefit.