Whether you’re an artist or not, almost everyone has seen splatter art before. But I bet you’ve never seen environmental activists splatter soup over a Vincent Van Gogh painting until recently.
Two environmental activists, Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer of Just Stop Oil, threw soup on Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and glued their hands to the wall where the painting hangs on Oct. 14.
According to the Shore News Network, the protest was in response to the United Kingdom’s current fossil fuel dilemma involving the country halting fuel production in the North Sea, forcing the U.K. to rely on imported fuel.
The average U.K. household uses 12,000 kilowatts of gas every year, according to Energy Guide. At the beginning of October, the average energy bill was predicted to increase by 80% due to gasoline prices. That staggering increase puts families’ energy bills at over £3,000 per year.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the average gas bill per month is a little more than $100 and sometimes less depending on the state, according to Inspire Clean Energy. Most Americans pay $1,200 per year for their energy bills.
So, one can sympathize with the activists’ statements of families not being able to put food on the table. Pandemic-driven cost increases have left many households around the world struggling to pay for gasoline and electricity.
Nevertheless, it’s utterly ridiculous that the activists took a can of soup and threw it on a masterpiece such as “Sunflowers” to make their point. If they wanted attention, they certainly got it. But I don’t think any protestor needs to go to the lengths of potentially destroying a priceless painting to make a point.
I’m not sure why protestors think that destroying or threatening property results in support for a cause. It’s honestly idiotic that I have to write the statements above to show how stupid it is to tear something down to build up your activist portfolio of what you think is an innocent protest.
Luckily, the painting was perfectly restored. CTV News mentioned that Holland and Plummer chose the painting because of Van Gogh’s own economic struggles, and how climate change may heavily affect impoverished citizens.
But for people who care so much about the beauty of the environment, you think they would care about the beauty and restoration of artwork that may capture naturalistic elements of the world. But I guess I was wrong to make that assumption. My mistake.
If activists truly wanted people to support their protests, then perhaps don’t tamper with property or burn down and loot businesses. In the summer of 2020 in Minneapolis, businesses including Target and AutoZone were looted and fires were set amid protests, according to reporting by NBC News.
It’s one thing to hold up signs and peacefully advocate for a cause because everyone should be able to stand up for what they believe in. However, I have a problem with tearing down businesses, both large and small, and destroying public and private property just to rest your case. The results of those illegal activities can lead to higher crime rates, more division among all sides of the political spectrum and more unneeded destruction.
In essence, let’s save the splatter paint for real artists, not for activists who are trying to “make a point” by potentially demolishing magnificent artworks.
Taylor Hamilton is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Tallahassee, Florida.
