Why a flood victim glued herself to a Picasso: 'Nothing to lose'
Why are climate protesters gluing themselves to some of the world’s most expensive art when the public reaction is frequently negative?
“Out of touch” and committing “appalling vandalism” are just two of the savage comments levelled at a pair of activists who glued themselves to a painting by Pablo Picasso at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
Lismore flood survivor Daisy Nutty says neither allegation is true.
Ms Nutty, 49, told Yahoo News Australia she had always been concerned about climate change, but being made homeless by the natural disaster in February escalated her resolve to act.
“It made it feel more personal. Some fears that were holding me back from (protesting) have gone.
“I’ve got nothing to lose now.”
Why the Picasso was chosen
On October 9, when she walked into the NGV, Ms Nutty said she tried to blend in with the public and enjoy the exhibition.
She and another activist from non-violent protest group Extinction Rebellion decided to glue themselves to Picasso’s Massacre in Korea for two reasons:
It was covered in perspex, so the glue wouldn’t damage it
What the painting itself depicts
Ms Nutty said there are correlations between the impact of war and the climate crisis.
“I actually loved the fact that the Picasso painting represented war, social collapse, famine,” Ms Nutty said.
“It shows naked women with children with guns being held at them.
“Picasso was for standing up to the system and he hated war, the patriarchy and government. It made so much sense to me to take this action.”
Why target expensive artwork?
With time running out to stop the climate and ecological emergency facing the world, Ms Nutty is no longer convinced that voting or petitions will create change fast enough.
“Our intention is merely to get people's attention, and to make them look,” she said.
“We’re saying you're more outraged about a painting than you are about the plight of humanity.
“If we all went out and stuck ourselves to a painting right now the decision makers would have to listen to us, they’d have to stop their business as usual and take care of the planet.”
At the time of writing, Ms Nutty said she has not been advised that she will face charges as a result of the protest.
The NGV did not respond to request for comment about the impact of climate activism on artworks. The National Gallery of Australia and Art Gallery of NSW said they could not comment.
What other artwork has been used by activists in protests?
Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (London)
Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera (Florence)
Giampietrino's The Last Supper (London)
Raphael’s Sistine Madonna (Dresden)
John Constable’s The Hay Wain (London)
JMW Turner's Tomson’s Aeolian Harp (Manchester)
Vincent Van Gogh's Peach Trees in Blossom (London)
Will the protests work?
While many commentators have criticised the protester’s methods, they have found favour in some corners of the internet.
British ecologist and author Alex Morss created a viral image that’s been liked on Twitter more than 12,000 times.
Titled Ways To Destroy a Sunflower, it features an image of Van Gough’s Sunflowers surrounded by a list of things that actually harm real sunflowers like drought, fire, crop failure and rising sea levels.
Ms Morss is commenting on the negative reaction to Friday’s protest during which activists threw soup and glued themselves to the protective layer of glass in front of Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at London’s National Gallery.
“How can we simultaneously be angry at a mocked-up threat to one of the most iconic paintings in the world yet fail to see the bigger picture of threats to everything the art represents?” Ms Morss said.
“All this beauty is in jeopardy, and not from soup or glue.”
Ms Morss said that while some “will always criticise protest methods”, history shows that “they work”.
“Historical examples have repeatedly shown that when all else failed, protests and civil disobedience won us human rights and protections, including some which were regarded at the time as extreme and/or illegal,” she added.
She said that protests themselves can be works of art, as they often appeal to human emotions more than facts.
Would Van Gogh approve of the protest?
Ms Morss argues Van Gogh cared more about the planet than his own artwork, adding that he destroyed many of his own paintings.
“Our planet is our most beautiful work of art and it is being trashed,” she said.
“I think Van Gogh would have approved of radical non-violent acts against environmental damage, nature was a precious priority to him.
“He once wrote that reality was more important to him than feelings for pictures, and he also wrote that one must dare if one really wants to live.”
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