Like all theatre and performance art Protesting is a public display. To have a public display you require an audience and a narrative. It is as simple as mime, though for many cultures much less offensive.
Recently there have been a few protests involving art. Pouring soup on Van Gough’s “Sunflowers” is one thing. Glueing your hands to the frame of “The Last Supper” is an interesting attempt at protest. In each case the art work was not harmed. The museums had put the pieces behind protective cases. Score one for the museums.
But is it Art?
These recent attempts at defacing famous paintings are definitely Protests. Though, are they Art? Yes it is art. However, I am rather unsure if the recent attempts at defacing famous works is effective as either Protest or Art.
My I remind you that the great Marcel Duchamp signed a urinal “R. Mutt” and presented it at an exhibition. Then there is the canned poo circa 1961 of Piero Manzoni. The Tate Museum bought a single can for $30,000 in 2000. Another can of Manzoni’s faecal matter sold for $300,000 in 2016.
Art does not have to be good or nice to be effective. Duchamp and Manzoni prove this as have so many other conceptual and abstract artists. The problem with the recent protests has been wether it is effective at all?
Sophistication?
To simply rate Art as good or bad is too much of a binary qualifier. Yes you can like it or not, but the word we require is sophisticated. Art does not have to be good or even pleasing, but it should attempt to be sophisticated.
Which is often a problem with certain protest movements due to the emotional state of the players involved. Passions are high. People are often angry. Numbers can lend weight to a cause. But also well acted out moments can garner interest and get on the news.
In a world that often feels like it is ruled by popular fads, protests and causes have to work hard to get trending. At times this can lead to subtlety and sophistication being ignored for bolder tactics. Shock and awe. We do live in a world where controversy creates cash.
A Pie in the Face
In October 1977 Anita Bryant was ‘pied’ during a news conference. A pie in the face is not as shocking as some protest actions are. However Bryant was shook by the incident. Search for the moment in youtube.
Bryant was one of the leaders pursuing a crusade against homosexuality. Bryant and her fellow crusaders immediately begin praying for the assailant Tom Higgins. Honestly, well played by both sides. I would call it a tied match.
A pie in the face is a well worn path. It is supposed to bring ridicule, or at the least show that the person is only human. Not as violent or as offensive as throwing a shoe in Iraq, but still potent due to the comedic history a pie in the face has.
It is sophisticated and very much a piece of performance art that we all know. Even if we do not know the history the very act of a pie in the face makes even children laugh. A child knows when the king is no longer clothed.
Performance Protesting
Like so much of art, the performance of the protest is not just about the message. It is about the elements involved. For the recent protests of “Just Stop Oil” it was a performance. Perhaps not a sophisticated performance. Maybe it required higher stakes, or a better target.
Sophisticated protests will highlight the cause and alert the public to join in. Anita Bryant’s 1977 pie in the face was at the beginning of what became a movement. Now we have Mardi Gras and games of football dedicated to promote acceptance over exclusion.
It took time for all this to occur. Which may just be the reason for the desperation and lack of sophistication in their protests. Unfortunately “Just stop oil” is of the opinion that time is what we do not have.