Climate protesters are chucking food at priceless paintings. A social movements expert says these tactics only convince people who already think climate change is serious.
- A string of climate protests this year involved throwing food at famous pieces of art.
- Activists say their actions are meant to halt the use of fossil fuels and call attention to the climate crisis.
Young activists are taking an eye-catching tactic to demand action on climate change this year — hurling food at famous pieces of art.
The activists say they're trying to stop an oil pipeline, limit fossil fuel use, and wake up the masses to the gravity of the climate crisis.
The wave of food-throwing climate protests prompted international outcry, with government officials and art experts shunning the practice and museums the world over increasing security, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"What I've found is that these tactics are likely to be viewed as positive by people who already believe that climate change is a serious social problem," Dylan Bugden, a sociologist at Washington State University who studies global climate change protests, told Insider.
In Bugden's research, he's found disruptive and confrontational tactics aren't effective on people who are not already concerned about climate change. "While that speaks to the limitations of this form of protest, it is also evidence that these tactics are unlikely to backfire," Bugden said, adding, "These more extreme tactics tend to preach to the choir more than anything."
So far, no art has been harmed by this year's protests, which build the decades-long fight for a healthy planet, according to the EPA. The food protests, which have included smearing cake and tossing tomato soup on famous works of art, continue at a rapid clip.
Tomato soup on van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'
Protesters from UK group Just Stop Oil called for the government to halt any new fossil fuel projects and threw cans of tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" in London's National Gallery in October. There was glass covering the painting.
"I recognize that it looks like a slightly ridiculous action," a protester who threw soup at the van Gogh painting said in an interview with social media publisher JOE, after appearing in court. "But we're not asking the question, 'Should everyone be throwing soup on paintings?' What we're doing is getting the conversation going so that we can ask the questions that matter."
Flour on a car Andy Warhol painted
On November 18, protesters from the Last Generation in Milan threw flour over a car that was repainted by Andy Warhol in 1979, Reuters reported.
Last Generation, a self-proclaimed "Italian civil disobedience campaign," is calling for the Italian government to halt the use of fossil fuels and prioritize renewable energy, according to their website.
On November 12, protesters with Stop Fracking Around, an anti-fracking group in Canada, poured maple syrup on Emily Carr's 1934 painting "Stumps and Sky" to protest a major oil pipeline, according to the art news website Artnet. The painting was behind a protective glass frame.
"I think any amount of publicity we can get as an organization is worth it because the climate crisis is the most pressing crisis of our time," Emily Kelsall, one of the protesters, told CBC News.
Cake smeared on a 16th-century masterpiece — the 'Mona Lisa'
In May, a man disguised as an old woman smeared cake on Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" to call attention to the climate crisis. It's unclear if the man was affiliated with any activist organization.
"Think about the Earth. There are people who are destroying the Earth," the man told the crowd in French as he was escorted by security, according to CBS News. The painting remained unharmed behind bullet-proof glass.
"Think about it ... all artists, think about the Earth — this is why I did this. Think about the planet," he added.
In October, German protesters from the Last Generation threw mashed potatoes at Claude Monet's painting "Grainstacks" at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany. As Insider previously reported, the artwork was not damaged due to a protective glaze.
"We are in a climate catastrophe and all you are afraid of is tomato soup or mashed potatoes on a painting. You know what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid because science tells us that we won't be able to feed our families in 2050," one of the activists said, The Guardian, reported. "Does it take mashed potatoes on a painting to make you listen?"