They threw vegetable soup on a Van Gogh painting. And black liquid on Klimt’s masterpiece. Then they covered Andy Warhol’s car in flour. And they “stuck” to Laocoon in protest. There are now many modalities but the ending is always the same: the ecological militants carry on their battles for the climate by ruining the works of art. Beyond the controversy over the meaning and sense of these gestures, the Ministry of Culture takes measures against “the senseless and gratuitous violence that targets the paintings, installations, works and structures of our museums and galleries”. As Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano explained in a note, it is time to “take immediate measures, starting with the cover with glass of all the paintings”.
A move that will have consequences. First of all on the ticket price to enter the museums and access the exhibitions. As underlined by the owner of the Culture, «considering the huge heritage to be protected, consequently the intervention will represent a considerable cost for the coffers of the Ministry and of the entire nation and which, unfortunately, can only foresee an increase in the ticket cost entrance”.
But, Sangiuliano reiterates, “the continuous attacks and outrages that increasingly occur to the detriment of our artistic and cultural heritage require us to rethink and reinforce the levels of protection they are protected”. “Once again – is the conclusion -, the outrage of a few violent people risks falling on the Italians and, in particular, on those who want to go and see a good exhibition”.
In Italy, the demonstrative gestures were carried out by the “Last generation” activists, who target works that have in some way to do with the environment to underline how the planetary crisis will inevitably also lead to the end of art. The latest exhibition to end up on target was the one dedicated to Andy Warhol in Milan: five people sprinkled eight kilos of flour on one of the main pieces, the BMW M1 personally painted by the artist and valued at 10 million dollars. On the same day, a different group of environmentalists hit the equestrian statue of the American sculptor Charles Ray (“Horse and Rider”) in Paris, positioned at the entrance to the Bourse de Commerce, where the Pinault collection is based, throwing orange paint.