The Art of Protest & Van Gogh's Sunflower

CLIMATE ACTIVISM

Imagine a world where Beethoven hadn't composed his last symphony, where Picasso hadn't painted the Guernica, where Dali's Persistence of Memory is a distant dream, there is no Othello, no Hamlet and no Shakespeare, Robert Frost hadn't made that journey that snowy evening. Is such a world worth fighting for?

A blast of thick orange liquid coursed over a depressing shade of yellow eliciting cries of disbelief and shouts of "Oh my Gosh!!" from the visitors present in room 43 of the National Gallery, London. Two girls in their early teens had spilled tomato soup over Van Gogh's iconic painting "Sunflower". The perpetrators claimed that they are affiliates of a climate change action group that goes by the name 'Just stop oil'.

A few months ago, two other activists had pasted their version of "an apocalyptic vision of the future", over John Constables' masterpiece 'Hay Wain', in the National Gallery. Hay Wain depicts English rural life in all its lively essence. The delicate brush strokes, muted greens, the empty hay cart, and the quaint country cottage present a nostalgic portrayal of pre-industrialized British countryside. Juxtaposed over it was the apocalyptic version- a dark heavy sky hanging over a dismembered landscape in the aftermath of a climatic holocaust.

The disruptive methods that Just stop oil employs to draw attention to climate change and climate action tread on a blurry line. To glue oneself to a goalpost, stop traffic or climb oil tankers is one thing, but to vandalize a work of art is to take the whole discourse of protest to a precarious level. The impact of global warming is irreversible and its drastic effect is now visible all over the globe, but a work of art is also irreversible. There cannot be another Van Gogh or a Claude Monet.

The Just stop oil website mentions that its main objective is to ensure that the government commits to ending all new licenses and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK. The organization envisions a world with reduced or no reliance on fossil fuels.

This recent spate of increased activism can be attributed to a crisis that had gripped UK since late 2021. The cost of living crisis as it is called refers to the drastic fall of real disposable income, owing to high inflation that had out-stripped wage and benefits increase. The combined effect of unstable gas and oil prices, depleted gas storage supplies in Europe, change in the agricultural pattern, pandemic shut down of factories, Russia Ukraine war and a host of factors have created a volatile situation for the whole world.

But the crux of the crisis lay on our over- reliance on oil and gas, which not only affects our environment but also threatens our way of life. No one would disagree with the content of the message that organizations like Just no Oil are trying to make. It is tied up with our very existence. But what is debatable is the way they have tried to get the message across.

The two girls after defacing the painting glued themselves to the wall beneath the artwork. One of them now identified as 21 year old Phoebe remarked "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 or people?" She then holds up the empty soup can and adds, "Many can't even afford to heat a tin of soup"

What is more important, art or life? Our self obsessed selfish mind would nudge us to choose the later. It can be argued that everything makes sense because we are alive. With our non-existence, the world ceases to be. But if we look at this whole question from another perspective, then the age old riddle of life makes its appearance. What is the meaning of life? Does being alive just means to be able to breathe and survive till we meet our ultimate fate?

Imagine a world where Beethoven hadn't composed his last symphony, where Picasso hadn't painted the Guernica, where Dali's Persistence of Memory is a distant dream, there is no Othello, no Hamlet and no Shakespeare, Robert Frost hadn't made that journey that snowy evening. Is such a world worth fighting for?

Millions of years ago when our ancestors were just one of the competing species trying to survive the wilderness of the planet, they had recorded their trials and tribulations on the stone walls of the darkened caves. Wouldn't destroying or erasing those cave paintings amount to eroding the very cause of our existence? Is it not art, music and other cultural pursuits make us what we are today? The precise reason the world is facing a crisis is because humanity has chosen to ignore the messages of those finest minds and gave itself to mindless consumerism.

The antithesis to the naked vandalism that some activists employ can be found in the works of England-based street artist, political activist and film director Bansky. While others had quite literally glued themselves to great works for visibility, the world still doesn't know the true identity of Banksy. He lets his work speak for itself. The strong imagery of his art penetrates the deepest core of our consciousness without violence or disruption. The word PARK slowly gives way to PARKING, a vulture sitting on a skeletal branch has a pump nozzle for its head or Jesus Christ on the crucifix is shown carrying shopping bags. The message is loud and clear without an iota of theatrics.

"The sunflower is mine', Van Gogh once declared. It shows the different stages in the sunflower from young bud to maturity emphasizing the transient nature of human actions. Each of the Dutch master's paintings has emerged from an intense emotional turmoil that not only marginalized him among his peers but also drove him to the fringe of existence. His bold brush strokes represent his revolt against what life had offered him. He refused to be bogged down. He would not only live his life but would rather lust for it. Tomato soup cannot dampen this resolve. This is the ideal that needs to be followed if we are to save the planet. But before that we need to save ourselves.

"These tactics are specifically geared towards getting media attention" remarked an observer "Throwing tomato soup is an escalation of that tactic" He then adds with caution, "if restrain is not practiced it may soon turn counterproductive."

END.

By: Emon NC

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