This is why some people are throwing food at priceless paintings

First it was a Van Gogh masterpiece, and now its Monet’s painting which has been hurled with food by protesting climate activists. The chief reason behind both the incidents has been stated as an attempt to bring awareness about what humans are doing to Earth.

While it can be very jarring to see food being pummelled onto irreplaceable masterpieces, it is also interesting to note the reasons why food and art have been chosen as a medium of protest by these activists.

Can of soup being hurled on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers

As reported by The Guardian, on October 14, two people walked up to Vincent van Gogh’s famed masterpiece Sunflowers in the National Gallery in London, and out of the blue, they threw tomato soup at the painting.

Shocked museum goers looked on as the two people removed their jackets to reveal their T-shirt that read ‘Just Stop Oil,’ which is an international organisation that is working to halt new fossil fuel licensing and production by the government.

Their endeavour was to highlight environmental concerns and one of them asked,

What is worth more, art or life?

Is it worth more than food? More than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?.

The gallery staff came and cleared up the scene. Later, they informed the public that the painting has not been harmed

Mashed potatoes on Monet’s painting

The Guardian reported this week that in Museum Barberini, Germany, two activists from Letzte Generation (Last Generation) threw potato over Monet’s Les Meules (Haystacks). One of the activists said in a video,

People are starving, people are freezing, people are dying.

Does it take mashed potatoes on a painting to make you listen? This painting is not going to be worth anything if we have to fight over food. When will you finally start to listen? When will you finally start to listen and stop business as usual?

The juxtaposition of essential items like food with artworks, are being used by these activists to draw attention to serious environmental concerns, which these activists feel should be immediately addressed by governments, and taken note of by the general public.

Sources used:

The Guardian: ’Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers’

The Guardian: ‘Climate activists throw mashed potatoes at Monet work in Germany’

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