German environmental group "The Last Generation" activists poured mashed potatoes on Monet's "Haystack". Photo / Official Twitter of "The Last Generation"
On October 24, at Madame Tussauds in London, England, "environmentalists" claiming to be from Just Stop Oil put chocolate cake on the face of the wax figure of King Charles III.
Just the day before, two radical German environmentalists threw mashed potatoes at Monet's famous painting "Haystack" at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany, which also caused widespread attention, sensation and shock.
Vandalism is not limited to works of art
The painting "Haystack", which was splashed with mashed potatoes, is the latest in Monet's series, and the market price is as high as 110 million US dollars.
The campaign was initiated and carried out by a young activist environmental group called The Last Generation, whose members wore striking orange vests, chanted slogans against fossil fuels and carbon emissions, threw mashed potatoes at paintings, and glued themselves to the walls with a glue.
This is not the organization's first move. It organized a hunger strike in Berlin in 2021, and deliberately chose the morning and evening rush hours in early 2022 to create a large traffic jam on the busiest highway.
In response to the "Haystack" incident, they claimed on Twitter that the purpose was to "sacrifice a picture to remind people of the fact that carbon emissions are killing people and the environment" and threatened to "continue to work hard".
In fact, the "last generation" is just a "pediatric" among the radical European environmental groups that have been attacking art in recent times. Strictly speaking, they are another, more famous group, the "parody show" version of the British organization Just Stop Oil.
Just Stop Oil was really founded at the beginning of this year. At that time, the British government, forced by energy constraints and inflationary pressures, announced the expansion of oil and gas production in the North Sea, angering these young activists who formed a new group to try to convey their "righteous voice" to the public through what they called "direct action".
Since April, they have publicly "locked" 10 "critical oil facilities" in Essex, Hertford, Southampton and Birmingham in the UK, blocking, harassing and graffiti surrounding roads, bridges, terminals, tankers, tankers and other infrastructure. In autumn, they decided that "the effect was not significant" and turned to the artwork.
On October 14, two women threw tomato soup at Dutch painter Van Gogh's Sunflower, a masterpiece by Dutch painter Van Gogh on display at the National Gallery in London, and pasted themselves on the wall, chanting "What is more valuable, is it art or life?" Is art more valuable than food? Is it more valuable than justice? Are you more concerned about protecting a picture or protecting our planet and people", and slogans such as "Focus on the cost-of-living crisis, on the millions of hungry and cold families".
This is the group's most radical act against artworks to date. Three months ago, they sprayed adhesive on Constable's Hayweed Wayne paintings (an early high-level copy) at the same museum, and early replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper at the Royal College of Art in London, but now they apparently feel that they are not as effective as "come to real".
Radical environmentalists think 'justice is in me'
European and American environmental organizations started with street sports and "performance art", and have a tradition of using such radical behaviors that inevitably disturb the people and undermine the public interest to attract attention and expand their influence, and have given birth to long-established environmental parties and organizations such as the Green Party and "Greenpeace".
As "green energy" and emission reduction become "political correctness" in Europe, the Green Party and most established ecological organizations in European countries have generally transformed into mainstream political parties and social activist groups, and have begun to seek "proper ways", "street attributes" and "performance art" have been greatly reduced.
This has aroused the dissatisfaction of the new generation of radical environmentalists, mainly young people, who believe that "justice is in me" and "time is not waiting for me", "environmental protection is not about inviting guests to dinner, and cannot be gentle and frugal", and even began to seek more radical means to "stimulate public sentiment" and attract attention.
In particular, the European energy crisis that began last year and the Russia-Ukraine conflict that broke out this year have forced European countries to rethink the previous radical and "one-size-fits-all" green energy alternative timetable and adopt more pragmatic energy policies. These measures were forced by the normal adjustment of the times, and to some extent a last resort, but young radical environmentalists were further stimulated and intensively resorted to more "sensational" extremes.
On October 14, two environmental group Stop Oil protesters sprinkled canned tomato soup on Van Gogh's 1888 painting Sunflowers. Photo/IC photo
In the extreme, due to the convenience of the Internet and other conveniences, the "imitation show" is endless: this summer, Italian painter Botticelli's masterpiece "Spring" was "glued to the living" by Italian radical environmental groups in an almost identical way.
The "justifications" put forward by these radical environmental groups and their supporters are varied, with four being the most representative.
First, "art is an extension of corporate power", given that oil and gas companies and tycoons like to collect art and often sponsor art exhibitions, these artworks, art galleries and galleries can be described as "walking for the sky";
Second, "only the rich will be drunk on paper, and targeting works of art is beneficial and harmless to the poor, and it is a precise strike";
Third, "direct action is important", given the "urgency of the situation", there is not so much time to debate whether the action is justified, "since justice is in me, then the work is over, and targeting big-name artworks can create more sensation and help publicize our justice claims";
Fourth, "even if we are doing this to be innocent and illegal, the same is true for governments and politicians to continue to use fossil energy.
Radicalization is only half the battle
This kind of radical "performance art" is half the success – it attracts enough attention as it wishes, but there is little understanding and support in it.
Fiolamonti, director of the Institute for Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey, points out that these radical environmentalists are intoxicated by the high visibility and visibility that can be easily obtained, but ignore the fact that "most of the people they do so are infamy", "these practices are not in the public interest, the public has the right to enjoy art, and there is nothing wrong with their desire for affordable energy prices, smooth transportation, such as traffic jams that disrupt emergency services such as ambulances and kill people. No matter how moving the slogan is, it can only push itself against the public."
On online platforms, some people refuted the "legitimate reasons" of radical environmental groups one by one.
First, if "being involved with fossil energy giants is a crime that deserves death", then the "Just Stop Oil" organization should first "cut itself": the largest and most stable source of funding for the organization is the "Erin Gates Foundation", and the founder of this foundation, Irene Gates, is the daughter of the famous British oil tycoon Jean Paul Gates II. The latter did not hesitate to buy entire pages in mainstream newspapers such as The Guardian to applaud "Just Stop Oil", and the money came from "evil fossil energy commercial gains".
Second, the performance art of traffic jams by radical environmental groups has led to many low- and middle-income people and ordinary wage earners being deducted from wages, losing their jobs, and even delayed treatment because ambulances are blocked, and "do the poor have no freedom to appreciate art" and "is justice or not?"
Third, at a time when energy prices are high and inflationary pressures are generally overwhelming the public, this inexplicable approach is tantamount to scratching your boots or even "why not eat minced meat."
Fourth, "so we can do the same if the government process is not right" and "we can create more influence by doing this", and some people directly compare it to the logic of fundamentalist terrorism such as "al-Qaeda" and "Islamic State", calling it "environmental terrorism".
Nevertheless, in today's Europe, where "green environmental protection" has become "political correctness", a considerable number of media, social activists and even mainstream political parties try to use the "energy" of radical environmental groups to do things for themselves, either saying that "the procedure is improper but the demands are understandable" or calling for "not just what they do, but also what they have to say".
When mashed potatoes and tomato soup poured on "Haystack" and "Sunflower" are still widely reported as "environmental protests" rather than simply "causing damage", and when those restless environmentalists who splash famous paintings talk as "traffic stars", the treasures of major European art museums are still more pragmatic.
Written by / Tao Xiaofang (columnist)
Editor / Liu Yunyun
Proofreader / Liu Jun