Live from London, this is Sandy Brown Jensen for Viz City, KLCC’s arts review program. I was queued up at the National Gallery last Friday watching the police surround a large group of protestors nearby.
Upon entering, I found out that in the next room, the two young lady protestors who had thrown tomato soup on Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” were still being unaffixed from the wall they had super-glued themselves to.
Of course, the $84 million dollar painting is behind bullet-proof glass, so no harm done by the tomato soup.
The questions the protestors were posing were, “What is worth more, art or life? Is art worth more than food? Is art worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”
The two young women are aged 20 and 21 and represent the group called Just Stop Oil. I love our beautiful young people and the many ways they are confronting and powering solutions for the changes that need to be made. But I wish they had brought these questions to a Council of Elders to help them refine their black or white questions into something richer and more complex.
I want them to define “worth” when they ask, “What is worth more, art or life?” This is not an either/or question. Art makes life worth living. A well-lived life is an art form itself.
Van Gogh painted the “Sunflowers” to welcome a friend, and they still give us all profound pleasure. Why can't we choose both art AND life?
When my parents were poor, my Mom bought daffodils with a portion of her meager food budget. A family saying now is, “Don’t forget to buy daffodils.” Food—yes. Beauty—yes. Art and justice—yes. It’s not about being MORE concerned about the protection of a painting than the protection of our planet and people: the answer is “all of them.”
Yes…and…
This is Sandy Brown Jensen in London for KLCC.
