Hammer Time

The Stop Oil people have switched from smearing priceless works of art with paint to using hammers on the glass protecting them.

So let’s try to understand this. The idea behind these protests is the idea of desecration. Generously interpreted, the gesture is meant to say, “You think this is a disgrace, well, the destruction of our environment is an even worse vandalism. I will make a demonstration of how little this matters to me to show you how much the planet does matter by comparison.”

The choice to attack museums and art galleries is itself interesting. They are often run by liberals and progressives, even when their task is the fundamentally conservative one of preserving the artistic patrimony of a nation — as at the London National Gallery. At the same time, the habitués of museums and galleries are seen as the bourgeoisie — the people who have time and leisure to pursue cultural interests for their own sake.

But I think the target of the gesture betrays its true meaning: Humanity is worse than worthless. Human life is parasitic on the innocent environment. We use the resources and do not replenish them. We amuse ourselves with art that has meaning only to us. What is a painting other than gussied-up pulp that we cover in glass so as to prevent it from fertilizing the soil? The human cult of beauty is therefore an offense in itself. So, less generously, the gesture says: “I tear down your gods in order to vindicate my own.”

I think patrons of art galleries should prepare themselves to counterattack these assaults on our cultural patrimony. At some point the hammers will shatter the glass and damage the works underneath permanently. Or the attackers will use some other means of destruction that is effective. Patrons should tackle them, pin them down, and disable them. Staff should support them, and so should the police and public opinion.