Over the past few months, there have been continuous reports on how climate protesters are targeting some of the world’s most valuable artworks in museums of multiple European countries. Tomato soup was thrown at Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, cake was smeared onto Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, and a man glued his shaved head to Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” The aggressive protest tactics have somewhat achieved their stated goal of raising awareness of the urgency of climate change but have sparked debates on whether these acts are meaningful activism or reckless vandalism.

Climate change is inarguably one of the biggest threats faced by humanity. The unpredictable and extreme weather witnessed over recent years reinforces the ominous prospect of an irrevocable living environment. Nevertheless, many people do not comply with the urgent call to action. Eventually, some individuals have resorted to rather extreme protests, urging the public to act before it is too late. These alarming exploits were reported in multiple countries such as the UK, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. All of these individual protests were a part of worldwide climate activism attempting to raise public awareness of climate change and the need for immediate action. Their chosen method was to target famous artwork by throwing food, smearing soup, and gluing themselves onto it. Many have been arrested for such vandalism.

Protesters argue that people’s concern about the possible damage to the artworks is greatly irrelevant compared to the extremity of climate change. One activist who threw mashed potatoes on Monet’s painting in October said, in a video tweeted by Letzte Generation, “People are starving. People are freezing. People are dying. We are in a climate catastrophe, and all you’re afraid of is tomato soup or mashed potatoes on a painting.” So far, none of the paintings involved in the protests have been seriously damaged, as most are guarded by protective glass. Furthermore, as the food stunts have gained international attention, protesters have reached their objective of delivering their message to the public and emphasizing the severity of climate change.

However, while climate change does require immediate action, the current protests that hold artworks as hostages appear to be failing in gaining the support of the public. Although there has been no serious harm so far, what would happen if one of the protests happens to damage one of the world’s most valuable pieces of artwork? The most essential key to the success of protests is gaining people’s support and assistance. While throwing tomato soup is likely to draw attention, it also becomes a subject of condemnation as well. Such extreme actions may only form negative associations with climate activism as people will be less willing to support protesters who only seem to be portrayed as irrational and unreasonable. To win the hearts of the people, gluing oneself to the paintings and smearing cake onto paintings does not seem to be the best option.

Another problem with the protests is that they simply turn heads to the protest tactics rather than their main objectives. The protesters make a valid point about how the global society is desperately in need of acknowledging and resolving the dangers of climate change. However, the current protests attacking artwork are in fact undermining such initiatives, as vandalism is unjustifiable regardless of its purpose. Simply shocking people with mashed potatoes and tomato soup to arouse a response is not enough to create actual change. What we need is not irrational hooliganism but reasonable activism and solidarity.