I would love to join these vandals in protest of our devastation of the environment on Earth! Lock me up for 50 years in an asylum because no matter what level headed common sense human being who believes in the sanctimony of science would care for the environment of our very sacred planet would just be ignored so be it! Let the whole fucking world collapse with their short term greed of natural resources consumption and negligence of forever waste in our ever expanding wasteland not to mention our oceans and our beautiful landscapes in general! We humans are egocentric so we must fuel our never exhausting hunger growth without consequences. Fuck the closed looped economic system that is now idealistic to move on to, because humans would never have it that way because there’s a god and the universe who teaches us that there is abundance of everything so happy joy joy forever! Ain’t no future in yo frontin! #6thMassExtinction
MUSEUMS
Climate Activists Indicted
Two climate activists who protested at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., have now been indicted by a federal grand jury. The charges brought by the US Attorney's Office include conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and injury to an exhibit or property at the museum. Activists Timothy Martin and Joanna Smith self-surrendered and were taken into custody, facing imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
Timothy Martin and Joanna Smith. Courtesy Declare Emergency.
Worldwide, museum security protocols have faced new challenges as activists increasingly target artwork. In recent months protesters have launched potatoes at famous artworks and superglued their hands to gallery walls to protest fossil fuels. An infamous incident involved Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers being doused in tomato soup at London's National Gallery sparking widespread headlines. Similar incidents have taken place in cities like Madrid, Berlin, Rome, and Sydney.
High-profile artworks by Vermeer, Goya, Monet, Van Gogh, Klimt, and Rubens have all been targets of climate protests extending across museums in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. In the case at the National Gallery of Art, the two climate activists smeared paint on the glass case and base containing Degas’s famous sculpture, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.
Most of the artworks have not been harmed as they were protected by glass encasements. Degas’s sculpture reportedly suffered microscopic fractures which will require continued monitoring. These incidents raise concerns about the potential damage to less protected artworks by increasingly audacious activists, leading some museums to implement stricter barriers.
As these acts become more prevalent, recent cases serve as precedents for punishment. Last November, two activists in Belgium were sentenced to two months in prison for targeting Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring in the Hague. Italy's culture minister recently proposed a law imposing substantial five-figure fines for cultural vandalism, however, protestors targeting the Trevi Fountain last week suggest that the threat of legal action alone may not be enough.