Should Free-Speech Absolutists Defend Vandalism of Precious Artwork?
"Committing vandalism by soup to send a message about climate change may be 'expressive,' but attempting to destroy someone else's work of art crosses moral and legal boundaries."
A couple of climate activists caused global outrage by throwing soup at Vincent van Gogh's painting Sunflowers. Should free-speech absolutists join in?
While other forms of peaceful protest are defensible, there is a compelling reason to draw the line at vandalism.
"Lots of conduct 'sends a message' but is nevertheless both immoral and illegal, like killing a political opponent, hijacking a plane, or torching a place of worship," says Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. "Likewise, committing vandalism by soup to send a message about climate change may be 'expressive,' but attempting to destroy someone else's work of art crosses moral and legal boundaries."
The soup-throwers are affiliated with Just Stop Oil, a U.K.–based group that has been partial to such destructive tactics in recent months, ostensibly to raise awareness of the environmental impact of oil and gas production. In July, members of the organization glued themselves to a 500-year-old reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.
Not only is such conduct unprotected in the United Kingdom, where speech laws are much less permissive than in the United States, but it would also leave activists open to vandalism and property destruction charges if they pulled the same stunt on U.S. soil.
Activists with @JustStop_Oil have thrown tomato soup on Van Gogh's Sunflowers at the national Gallery and glued themselves to the wall. pic.twitter.com/M8YP1LPTOU
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) October 14, 2022
The protest was probably ineffective on its own terms too. Throwing a can of tomato soup at a precious work of art has little to do with fighting fossil fuels.
After the soup incident, according to The Guardian, the activists were arrested and charged with criminal damage and aggravated trespass. Officials from the National Gallery in London, where the painting is housed, say the picture was protected by a pane of glass and was not harmed, though the frame suffered minor damage.
The protest attracted harsh criticism even from those normally supportive of environmentalism. As one witness told The Guardian, "They may be trying to get people to think about the issues but all they end up doing is getting people really annoyed and angry."
