On Sunday, two members of the group Letzte Generation stuck themselves to the wall of the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany, after smearing “Les Meules” by Claude Monet with mashed potatoes. According to estimates, the 130-year-old painting is worth $111 million.
If it takes a painting of mashed potatoes or tomato soup to tell people that our current course of utilizing fossil fuels is killing us all, then be it. On Sunday, Letzte Generation tweeted a video depicting the event.
Extreme weather conditions, malnutrition, and mortality affect many people. According to Der Tagesspiegel, a female protester called Mirjam Herrmann yelled, “We are in the midst of a climate catastrophe!”
Hermann screamed, “Science forecasts that by 2050, we will be unable to feed our children.” If we end up fighting over food, the value of this artwork is nullified.
A museum representative told Der Tagesspiegel that the activists were promptly removed from the sealed wall and that the artwork sustained no irreparable damage.
The museum director, Ortrud Westheider, stated, “While I appreciate the demonstrators’ grave concern over the climate issue, I am worried by how they are attempting to bolster their demands.”
The head of the Green Party in Brandenburg, Ursula Nonnemacher, publicly opposed the march on Twitter. The destruction of well-known artworks does nothing to resolve the global disaster. In a series of tweets, she pushed for broader cultural consensus.
Two hardline climate organization “Just Stop Oil” members smeared tomato soup on “Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh in London, England. During the tragedy, the $85 million artwork was likewise undamaged.