Prof. Aseem Prakash and colleague Prof. Nives Dolšak on Forbes site commenting on climate protesters using famous artworks to grab headlines.
"These sorts of protests seem to be getting popular. In May 2022, climate activists threw a pastry at the Mona Lisa in Paris’ Louvre Museum...Activists have also glued themselves to works like Tomson's Aeolian Harp, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, Massacre of the Innocents by Rubens, and the Vatican sculpture Laocoön and His Sons.
What are their Demands?
The Just Stop Oil press release notes “Is art worth more than life? More than food? More than justice?.” These are provocative questions with no easy answers. Some might say art and cultural artifacts need to be protected, even in times of war. The International Criminal Court has ruled that destroying cultural artifacts is a war crime. So, activists should perhaps not pit art against life or food because all need to be protected in their own right. Nobody wins if we create a false choice among art, food, and justice"