For the past week, the Frieze art fair has been drawing the attention of art lovers in London, but on Friday, everything changed. Suddenly, the spotlight was on the National Gallery, where climate activists staged a protest that appeared to threaten a Vincent van Gogh painting. Van Gogh. The activists, who are part of the Just Stop Oil group, focused on climate change, threw tomato soup at Sunflowers in Van Gogh, an important example of the Post-Impressionist style and one of the National Gallery's many treasures.
Then the activists glued themselves to the wall under the painting.The gesture is one that Just Stop Oil has regularly made in the UK, where its members have repeatedly sought to pressure the government to respond more quickly to the destruction of the natural environment.Their tactics often involve sticking themselves to works of art, often without damaging the pieces themselves, and their protests have inspired similar protests in Italy and Australia. Shortly after the protest, the National Gallery claimed that the painting by Van Gogh it was not injured, although its frame suffered “minor damage”. The museum stated that two people were arrested after the protest.
In the video of the protest that was posted by Just Stop Oil on Twitter, the two activists can be seen opening what appears to be a can of Heinz soup and throwing the contents inside onto the screen. Then they spread glue on their hands and stick them to the wall."Human creativity and brilliance are on display in this gallery, but our heritage is being destroyed by our government's failure to act on the climate and cost of living crisis," the group wrote on Twitter.The gesture proved controversial, with many people in the art world – and beyond – condemning the protest on various grounds. Alex Needham, arts editor of the Guardian, wrote on Twitter: “I don't think doing this in a public institution is so smart. We all own that painting.” Art historian Ruth Millington wrote: “Attacking the Sunflowers of Van Gogh – one of the most beloved paintings in the world – will not gain public support, which is what is needed for real change.”
Others spoke dramatically of the potential impact of the protest. Andrew Doyle, a political comedian who supported Brexit and regularly criticizes political correctness, said the protest "represents a repudiation of civilization and the achievements of humanity". Still others raised the possibility that Van Gogh wasn't the right artist for the target. “I am trying to understand the reason for destroying a painting of sunflowers made by Van Gogh. A poor man who has been marginalized in his local community due to his mental illness is not the right target to make a statement about how terrible the oil industry is.” And there were still other users who took the opportunity to turn the protest into a meme, comparing the event to pop star Katy Perry and questioning what Van Gogh did to harm the climate.