Ντομάτα σε ηλιοτρόπια.
Χθες βλέποντας το βίντεο και τις αντιδράσεις του κόσμου (9/10 σχόλια με ύβρεις για τα κορίτσια), έγραψα αυτό στο facebook:
Θα το πω γιατί θα σκάσω: Αυτό που έκαναν οι δυο κοπέλες στο μουσείο με τον πίνακα μου μοιάζει πολύ light σε σχέση με αυτό που θα έπρεπε να γίνεται παγκοσμίως για την κλιματική αλλαγή. Οι επιστήμονες προειδοποιούν για ανεπανόρθωτες καταστάσεις, αλλά ζούμε σαν σε αφασία!
Ο σκοπός τους ήταν να ακουστούν και σίγουρα τον πέτυχαν γιατί το θέμα παίζεται ακόμα και στα μεγάλα site. Κατανοώ πως πολλοί έχουν ευαισθησία στις βεβηλώσεις του παρελθόντος για ακτιβιστικούς λόγους, ίσως έχασαν πολύ κόσμο με αυτό που έκαναν.
Κάποιοι λένε όμως πως και η κακή δημοσιότητα είναι δημοσιότητα. Υπό αυτή την οπτική, μου άρεσε αυτό που έκαναν. Ο πίνακας δεν έπαθε κάτι από ό,τι λένε, καθώς είχε προστατευτικό τζάμι. Ακόμα και να πάθαινε όμως, αν αυτή η ζημιά ξύπναγε μερικές χιλιάδες ανθρώπους και τους έβαζε στη διαδικασία να σκεφτούν τι μπορούν να κάνουν οι ίδιοι για την κλιματική αλλαγή, χαλάλι και ένας και δέκα πίνακες! Η αξία του πίνακα καθορίζεται από το πόση σημασία του δίνουμε εμείς οι άνθρωποι και πόσο θέλουμε να τον αποκτήσουμε. Η αξία του μέλλοντός μας όμως δε μετριέται απλώς με χρήμα. Είναι κάτι πολύ πέρα από αυτό. Πολύ πιο ουσιώδες.
Σήμερα διάβασα ένα πολύ ωραίο νήμα του Peter Kalmus στο twitter, το οποίο παραθέτω στην αγγλική γλώσσα, όπως γράφτηκε. Αν κάποιος/α επιθυμεί να κάνει μετάφραση στην ελληνική γλώσσα, ας επικοινωνήσει μαζί μου στο facebook.
OK, hear me out, this was actually a visionary and inspired action.
First, the key context: We are in the mid-stages of fossil-fueled, irreversible Earth breakdown that will cause the collapse of civilization and untold death and suffering if ignored. And what is society doing about it? Basically ignoring it. Worse, even: accelerating it.
How tragic is it that we’re heading deeper into the destruction of life on this beautiful planet, the only place in the universe known to have life, and yet we are barely talking about it? Do not go gentle into that good night ????
How tragic, that there is LITERALLY more outrage over this act that caused zero damage, than about fossil fuel executives lying, colluding, and blocking action for decades, locking in intensifying heat waves, flooding, fires, rising seas, collapsing crop yields, and death?
Once you truly understand – once you accept the science, once you pinch yourself for some amount of time because it can’t be true, but it is, the science keeps coming in and reinforcing the fundamental findings – once you accept it accept it (emotionally), once you grieve…
…and you just can’t shake the feeling that something is deeply wrong with our society, with world leaders, with corporations, with the media, with everyone going about their daily lives as if everything is perfectly fine… you try all kinds of things to wake people up.
But nothing works. It’s like everyone is caught in some collective sleepwalk. And you are terrified. And you feel a clear responsibility to do something. And you know most people will hate you for it, and denounce you.
These activists and their bold act of desperation shattered the collective sleepwalk, if for a moment. It stirred things up. It caused discussion. It shone a light.
I think it is a contribution to shifting the narrative. What counts as important, and why? What do we value, as individuals, as a society, and why?
And they even managed to do this without damaging the painting. The painting is perfectly fine. What they DID damage? Crazy social norms that hold an object of art to be worth more than billions of people’s lives and life on Earth. Their action holds a mirror to a sick society.
Folks, we’ve been trying to warn you. I’ve been trying to warn you. Scientists have been trying to warn you. All this time. For decades. We are on a track to lose essentially everything. Every year it gets a bit worse. WE MUST GET OFF THAT TRACK
Will their action turn people against climate activists? People were ALREADY against climate activists, by seeing our activism but continuing business as usual, not joining in, not calling for an end to fossil fuels, animal agriculture, and oligarchic-extractive capitalism.
If you hate these activists who are trying to preserve as much as possible of a livable Earth for all, at great risk to themselves, while NOT EVEN DAMAGING a painting, that’s on you.
The massive outrage against what was a nonviolent, non-property-damaging action meant to save lives is, again, a reflection of the violence of this society, and how these brutal systems are upheld by ignorance, thoughtlessness, and greed.
I’d like to think Vincent himself would have loved this action and cheered on the activists. It was punk, full of life, and in tune with this vibrantly beautiful Earth, just like he was. There is no art on a dead planet.
