Yesterday morning over coffee I finished the last page of Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest by Laura Raicovich. I then swiped open my phone to the news of the Mona Lisa protest, wherein a man disguised as an older woman in a wheelchair snuck into the Louvre and smeared cake all over the bulletproof glass that protects the iconic artwork.
This is not the first time da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has been a site of vandalism in protest — as evidenced by that bulletproof glass, nor is the act against Mona Lisa a lone instance.
With both instances happening in such close proximity — it must be a sign that this month’s newsletter might benefit from a little deep dive on the subject of vandalism.
🌊 Deep Dive: Art Vandalism in Protest
While the motivations behind using art as a baseline for protest vary immensely from advocating for board and funding accountability evidenced by global protests around removing the Sackler name from museum walls to that of climate change advocacy as in yesterday’s demonstration. Painting vandalism, which I’ll focus on, is just one of the many forms that the act of protest can take on. (If you are curious about other forms send me a note — I’m always beyond happy to talk art.)
The Mona Lisa, in particular, has served as a site for many impassioned messages. The work has been doused with acid (1956), spraypainted in protest of the National Art Museum in Tokyo’s policy for the disabled (1974), hit by a rock (1956), and a teacup (2009). While exact motivations vary, this iconic work in the largest museum in the world seems like a prime place to get important messages across. However, it’s not the only iconic work to receive such treatment.
More iconic artworks and the motivations behind the acts of protest:
Anti-war & Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Spraypainting the phrase “KILL LIES ALL” was (now art-dealer), Tony Shafrazi’s method of choice in 1974, in protest of Richard Nixon’s political actions during the My Lai massacre.
Feminism & Diego Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus
Suffragette Mary Richardson used a cleaver to express her disappointment with the arrest of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in 1914. This specific painting was chosen as the site in light of the following: “I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs. Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history,” stated by Ms. Richardson.
The Corruption and Commercialism of Art & Kazimir Malevich “Suprematism (White Cross)”
In 1997, a very-Warholian green dollar sign was spray painted on Kazimir Malevich’s “Suprematism (White Cross)” in order to present a contrasting new take on idolization - shifting from the cross to the symbol of money. The vandalizer suggested that Malevich might actually like his attempt at dialouge with the work.
Attempts at Censorship & Robert Maplethorpe
In a very direct, above-the-law attempt at what can be considered the ultimate vandalism — during the culture wars of the 1990s, police threatened to destroy provocative photographs by Robert Maplethorpe. They were unsuccessful in their quest.
Market Perspective
From a market perspective, it seems as though acts of protest can add additional notoriety and value to an artwork. While the above examples belong to incredibly prestigious museums, let’s look at the most recent sale of Shot Sage Blue Marilyn from 1964.
The series of Shot Marilyns came to fruition when performance artist Dorothy Podber asked Warhol if she could shoot a stack of his paintings and Warhol wrongly assumed that she meant with a camera. While the intended message behind the vandalism is less clear than in previous examples — this intervention has taken on many meanings from criticism of the cult of celebrity to a desire for career recognition.
Four of the Marilyns reside within the collections of the top private collectors in the world, including Steve Cohen and Ken Griffin. The Shot Sage Blue Marilyn appeared at auction and sold this past month at Christie’s for a whopping $195M — breaking the world record for Andy Warhol as well as becoming the most expensive work by an American artist ever sold at auction.
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In the end, the goal of art and contemporary art, in particular, is to create important messages that serve as a time capsule for our current condition. Over the past few years, it has become even more pressing to participate in imminent and important social, cultural, and political dialogue — I am, therefore, not particularly surprised that the Mona Lisa served, yet again, as a site of protest. While I am absolutely not a fan of irreversible damage inflicted on artwork, I do support the desire for artists to create highly visible messages. This sentimate is powerful and pressing, so I am peronsally grateful for passionate opinions expressed thorugh art.
🔥 Trending
The art market is not cooling off.
The final installment of the Macklowe art collection sold at Sotheby’s last month, becoming the most expensive collection to ever sell at auction, reaching a final total of $922.2 million. (This total tops the Rockefeller sale at Christie’s which held the previous record total of $835.1 million set in December 2018.)
Art Basel x 2 - right now Hong Kong, in a couple of weeks, Basel. If you asked me during the pandemic what would be the first to go, I would have said the fairs, however, they are back and more prevalent than ever.
💸 Advisory Picks
Two amazing Biennals - visit if you can!
The Venice Biennal opened last month and it is an absolute must-see if you are in Venice before the end of November. The floating city is flooded with culture from around the world - with artists from around the globe taking over a country-specific pavilion and installing engaging and innovative work. I will be there next month and will head straight to both the American Pavilion, showing Simone Leigh (who was awarded one of the biennial’s highest honors, the Golden Lion for the best participation), and the Canadian Pavilion showing Stan Douglas! So, stay tuned for more details in the next edition.
In New York - don’t miss the Whitney Biennial on view through September 5th.
👋 Parting Words…
Finally — in other professional news, I am getting super excited for Peggy’s launch so be sure to sign up for our waitlist to be notified when we launch.
Until next time…
Bronwyn