Eco Activists Adhere Themselves To Art, This Time To The Vatican’s Most Prized
Activists all over the world have shown their disdain for the current climate crisis in myriad ways, most notably by glueing themselves onto famed works of art, such as to a Vincent van Gogh landscape painting at the Courtauld Gallery and the frame of a Constable work at the National Gallery, both in London.
Now, two protestors from Italian organization Ultima Generazione have followed suit, this time attaching themselves to one of the Vatican’s most prized sculptures—Laocoön and His Sons.
According to a statement, a 26-year-old woman and an older man entered the Vatican Museum while being followed by several reporters before glueing themselves to the base of the artwork.
Custodians then evacuated the section of the museum before relinquishing the duo of their phones, which they felt was concerning as they wanted to document any possible abuses on video.
According to ARTnews, the sculpture depicts Laocoön, part of the myth of Troy, and is believed to have been crafted between 40 BCE to 30 BCE.
It was first identified in 1506 and became one of the Vatican’s most valuable works when it was made the centerpiece of the church’s garden by Pope Julius II.
The figure is said to have been a Trojan priest who had told residents to set fire to the Trojan horse—yes, the very one used as a decoy to hide enemy soldiers. However, the goddess Athena doesn’t appreciate his efforts to foil the Greek soldiers’ plans, and she sends a serpent to strangle him and his two sons, as Laocoön is seen battling in the lifelike sculpture.
Comparing the issue of climate change to the “impending catastrophe” Laocoön was warning the citizens of Troy against, Ultimate Generazione activists said they chose the piece to highlight the suffering the priest faced for sounding the alarm.
“There will be no open museums, no art, no beauty in a world plagued by the climate and ecological emergency. Drought, floods, fires, pollution, and scarcity of resources will take over if radical choices are not made in this regard,” it wrote.
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[via ARTnews and Ultima Generazione, images via Ultima Generazione / Alessandro Pugliese]
