Michael Taube: Environmentalist art vandalism must be stopped
Western democracies have tolerated the selfish actions and abhorrent behaviour of far-left environmentalists for long enough
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Over the past couple years, radical environmentalists have vandalized several great works of art. This includes Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” (National Gallery in London), Horatio McCulloch’s “My Heart’s in the Highlands” (Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow), Claude Monet’s “Grainstacks” (Barberini Museum in Potsdam) and Tom Thomson’s “Northern River” (National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa).
We can now add one of the world’s most recognizable paintings to the list: Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”
On Jan. 28, two women associated with the environmental group Riposte Alimentaire (Food Counterattack) entered the Louvre in Paris, made their way to the 16th-century masterpiece and threw pumpkin soup at it.
The protesters then stood by the “Mona Lisa” and yelled out, “What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?” They were eventually detained by museum security.
Similar to masterpieces targeted by radical environmentalists who belong to groups like Just Stop Oil (Van Gogh, McCullough, Monet) and On2Ottawa (Thomson), the “Mona Lisa” was housed under protective glass. It seems obvious that protesters target paintings protected behind glass to ensure that any potential fines and jail sentences will be kept to a minimum.
The “Mona Lisa” has been housed behind safety glass since 1956, after a vandal hit the lower portions of the painting with acid and another threw a rock that chipped paint off her elbow.
The painting was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 by a former employee, and went missing for over two years. Other attacks include a failed attempt to spray paint it while it was on tour at the Tokyo National Museum in Japan in 1974, and a climate protester who smeared cake on the bulletproof glass housing the work in 2022.
It’s hard to fathom how these radical environmentalists have been able to get remarkably close to these works of art time and time again.
Having visited several of these museums, I can say with certainty that getting a completely unobstructed path to these masterpieces, especially the “Mona Lisa,” is nearly impossible. To have a clear line of sight to throw soup or other food items at this painting without a security guard nearby is even harder to imagine.
Regardless, it has now happened on multiple occasions — and it has to stop. This isn’t even a partisan issue. Many people on the right and left agree that these radical environmentalists have taken their cause too far.
In order to bring this wave of art vandalism to an end, museums and galleries should increase security measures. While many have metal detectors and security guards to check people’s belongings and confiscate weapons, abrasive liquids and sharp objects, it’s clearly not enough to stop these art vandals.
There needs to be more security guards to monitor rooms that house paintings, sculptures and the like, as well as additional security cameras, alarms and motion detectors. People mustn’t be allowed to bring food into museums or galleries going forward, or take food out of cafeterias.
This will help ensure that radical environmentalists won’t be able to use museums and galleries to make political statements anymore.
Likewise, more money must be earmarked for security measures. The average security guard at U.S. museums makes US$26.61 (C$36) an hour. More experienced security guards would obviously command higher salaries.
It’s up to either governments to use taxpayer dollars to enhance security at museums, or the institutions themselves to shift some of their funds toward the protection of exhibits. While this will likely mean some new art purchases will have to be temporarily delayed or permanently shelved, it’s a necessary expense to ensure that art vandalism is finally curtailed.
Governments also have to establish stronger penalties for these criminal acts. Make no mistake about it: this is more than mere public mischief. These are attempts to desecrate great works of art, even if they’re safely behind protective glass.
These activists demonstrate a complete lack of respect for authority, tradition and public institutions. This type of behaviour shouldn’t be tolerated in decent, law-abiding societies. Hence, there have to be more significant fines and longer jail sentences to discourage others from engaging in further copycat attacks on works of art.
Finally, visitors will have to accept the fact that the process of entering a museum or gallery will become even slower than it already is. That’s unfortunate, but it’s a small price to pay if we want to continue to enjoy all they have to offer. A few more minutes in line to ensure several more hours of uninterrupted pleasure doesn’t sound like a bad trade-off.
Western democracies have tolerated the selfish actions and abhorrent behaviour of far-left environmentalists for long enough. Let’s bring an end to art vandalism, in order to protect great works of art for future generations.
National Post
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