Two activists arrested after Rokeby Venus artwork targeted, as dozens of others held after blocking Whitehall
Two activists arrested after Rokeby Venus artwork targeted, as dozens of others held after blocking Whitehall
Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after smashing the glass covering a Diego Velázquez painting at the National Gallery in London, as police detained dozens of others who blocked Whitehall.
Two activists targeted the glass on the Rokeby Venus painting with safety hammers before they were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
The artwork, which was painted by Velázquez in the 1600s, was slashed by the suffragette Mary Richardson in 1914. One of those involved on Monday said: “Women did not get the vote by voting; it is time for deeds not words.”
The Metropolitan police said at least 40 activists who were “slow marching” in Whitehall were also detained and that the road was clear after traffic was stopped for a brief period
This gets almost zero lasting attention. CEOs start dropping like flies at the hands of angry citizens? Yeah, that's going to make a bigger difference.
A lot of these goons are paid by oil to make environmentalists look bad, and they do a good job at it. Even if they are real, they are so pathetic that they wouldn't dare to do anything that would have an actual effect on the world like you said.
There is this specific absolutely beautiful instrument at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. It was made out of trash by people in abject poverty. The arts might change, but it's pretty damn hard to extinguish that creative spark people have.
I mean, to an extent yeah, but I don't see how that's relevant to the discussion here.
But to entertain that thought, just purely out of intrigue, there have been artists always, no matter the circumstances, always. Music, art, survives through any kind of crises. "First things to go", I'd even argue that's one of the last things to go. We're living in fucking waterworld, one of the most valuable things is artistry. But this is 100% sidetracked now. But there is a 100% going to be at least that one crazy person who keeps art alive. We have folk music from centuries and centuries ago, some even millenia ago. Art is not just entertainment. Historically and even today it serves and has served a purpose. It's not for naught the Songlines and such are songs. Music, art and everything like that is intertwined with humanity.
I had a point but I forgot it. Either way. The arts are in no way "the first things to go".
We are talking about a painting from an artist in the court of a Spanish monarch from hundreds of years ago, a type of art that museums strive to maintain via expensive means. We are not talking about more ephemeral art that doesn't get maintained, and is eventually lost to time anyway.
Maintaining of art like this would absolutely be one of the first things to go. There is already often talks about defunding the arts even in peaceful times. Look at "went to an art school" being often thrown around as a joke about being useless even in decent times.
You can talk circles around justifying this idiocy, it's not going to make this clout chasing vandalism stunt any more clever. If justifying some kind of funding is what you want to talk about you're free to do so, funding has never been something that stops art from existing, but that discussion is absolutely irrelevant to this thing. Besides, "the arts are one of the first things to go" isn't talking about this one piece, it's very general and you know it.
Said "paper" has a shit ton of historical significance. art can define our culture alter our history and change our perception on things. Art like comedy or forms of media is also subjective what you may find rubbish another person may enjoy. And in my upmost opinion this isn't protesting this is vandalism. I think it's important that we must not forget history so we can learn from it and not repeat the mistakes of the past. and a large part of not forgetting history is restoring and maintaining pieces of art such as this......... not vandalising it for a vague and nonsensical environmental message people like this and also people like you muddy the water for true discussion and debate on the environment and other topics relating to it
The fact that you see vandalism and protest as mutually exclusive is really odd. Reminds me of the liberal types who claim they’re all for protesting and yet draw the line at anything past marching or petitioning maybe.
Super great deflection technique by the big oil guys by the way - everyone’s arguing over art in a museum rather than holding them accountable
The "Big oil guys" whose business took absolutely no hit from this shit, who had absolutely fucking nothing to do with the art. Grand fucking statement
These people are protesting the loss of the status quo of unchecked rampant overpopulation.
There were 500 million people when that paper was made... 2 billion when the sufragettes slashed it... there are 8 billion now, and how exactly has that improved things?
Do we really want to see what 32 billion people will do to the environment?