Art Vandalism and Heritage: Meaning-Making Processes of Climate Activists’ Performance in Museums

ABSTRACT

In the landmark year of 2022, climate activists staged 38 heritage performances in museums and galleries worldwide to raise awareness about the pressing threats of global warming and climate crises. This article explores the advantages that heritage offers to climate activists for conveying their message and analyzes their performances within the framework of heritage. Having redefined art vandalism and suggested new terminology, the research examines all recorded incidents in 2022, with a detailed case study of the “Letzte Generation” group in Germany, who chose the Barberini Museum to throw mashed potatoes on Monet’s Meules. The group’s performance is analyzed through Professor Laurajane Smith’s concept of “heritage as performance,” demonstrating different layers of metaphorical, social, and emotional meaning.

KEYWORDS:

• Art vandalism
• heritage
• performance
• climate activists

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Farhad Davatkhah

Farhad Davatkhah holds a Master’s degree in General Linguistics, with a focus on cognitive semantics theories. He is currently pursuing a second Master’s degree in World Heritage Studies at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus, Germany, and is in the initial stages of his PhD studies. His research interests include meaning-making processes in culture and heritage interpretation.