#morally bad artists

[isobelleposts]

What is Worth More, Art or Life?

by Isobelle Cruz [October 26, 2022]

ABOVE: "Sunflowers" (1888) by Vincent van Gogh

A close friend of mine recently brought up the latest issue regarding the two activists that had thrown soup at Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting at London’s National Art Gallery and had sparked an interest in me to look further into it, and how this is not the first instance wherein art had been used as a gateway to spreading social awareness.

Was it right? Was it wrong? Let’s start with what the news articles say.

As usual, news articles and journalists have refrained from stating opinions and instead laid out facts on the event. One thing I had noticed, though, while on this little research of mine, was the prominent use of the word “Gen-Z” in news headlines. Young people are getting more and more aware of society’s troubles and unjust treatment of the privileged towards minorities as time passes by. With that, activists have grown to find more uniquely absurd ways to catch mass attention and awareness.

Earlier this year in May, at the Louvre Museum, a 36-year-old man had smeared cake on Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” with the intent of drawing attention to the environmental damage that is caused by artists and their craft. His words spoken in French specifically were as stated below:

"There are people who are destroying the Earth. All artists, think about the earth. That’s why I did this. Think of the planet.”

Just like the Mona Lisa cake-smearing situation, the recent event that took place on October 14th garnered a lot of attention online and several opinions were broadcasted through social media outlets; one of them popularly being Twitter. Though to thoroughly examine the situation, I’ve decided to go beyond the surface of social media posts and online articles and had some people closely related in my life—most of them fellow artists connected through a mutual friend—state their thoughts and opinions.

ABOVE: "Minotaur Caressing a Sleeping Woman" (1933) by Pablo Picasso

WHAT DO THE PEOPLE THINK?

It was in my favor, that, just like opinions are split in half and spread across social media, the personal statements I’ve come to gather are diverse in their takes on the situation as well, hence broadening the areas of my discussion.

One of them stated that they weren’t sure what to think but were relieved that the painting wasn’t damaged, while others think the same though feel that it wasn’t the right approach to take on behalf of the activists. 

Another states quite boldly that the attempt to destroy such an important piece of art and cultural history won’t fix the climate crisis and also compares it to destroying the great pyramids in an attempt to fix racism.

Personally, I think that is a completely irrelevant comparison. Although there are several conflicting and morally bad artists out there whose paintings could have been harmed instead, such as Pablo Picasso, who used his art as a form to showcase his misogyny towards “machines for suffering”, “doormats”, or women, it still does not take away the fact that this not-so newly adapted form activism was successful in garnering attention towards artists and enjoyers of art—no matter how small or large it may seem.

ABOVE: "Ophelia" (1851–1852) by John Everett Millais

WHAT CAN I DO?

As someone who participates in the problem of our crisis through the use of oil paints and other harmful materials, I began wondering what I may change or prevent in order to help in the situation. It would be ignorant to find this occasion as something interesting enough to be worth writing about yet continually participating in everyday actions that slowly destroy our environment.

For a detailed discussion of what artists may do to become more environmentally friendly, I went over a helpful article written by Agora Experts titled Going Green: Environmentally Friendly Practices for Artists.

“What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”

Statement from one of the activists on the Van Gogh occurrence

Tell me, what is worth more to you? Art or life?

[gryphll]

summer treats 🌞🍦

[altades]

can we talk about can we just talk about them can we can we i'm please

ww seeing the worst most terrifyng parts of vash and still staying by his side i ahhhhh

[mircsy]

POV: You’re Dolon from The Iliad

[Caption is from Robert Fagles’ Iliad translation, Book 10]

As much as I hate rendering it turned out okay? -ish? I need to make custom brushes

And I was too lazy to give Diomedes a sword, so he’s just leaning on his spear while Odysseus is being the demon he always is

AND IF you take a look at the grass, you couldn’t guess what brush I discovered in CSP lmao

[zimtlees]

I LOVE YOUR ART STLYE ❤️😭 btw can i have any art request :3

Can you draw Joe and nurse Bendy having a son and mom moment pls pls pls

She's a proud mom...

Also I LOVE UR ART TOO FED

[sugashook]

skica. beba

[akiga7]

Silly lil’ churchy Orel :333

[elqenna]

another lyla doodle page? yep. I hope I am only known as the lyla artist to you all 🙏

if anyone wants 2 draw her little suit I designed I would literally owe you my LIFE 💪 speaking of which I gotta commission more folks 👀

[connorconsumestrousers]

ROOMMATE AU PT. 2

not as satisfied w this drawing set, but most are redraws so whatchu gonna do shrugs

some redraws of the older doodles that @leedoodlesstuff did in my own style 🫶 [besides the sad clay] also lee drew the small Fran in the corner

closeups and og doodles under the cut!

[nintendont2502]

btw i will forever recommend just. refusing to engage in discourse. its free its easy and you literally arent missing anything LMAO - 99% of discourse on here is just on the most pointless petty shit that literally doesnt mean a single thing to anyone in real life (i am looking directly at you "pRo/AnTi" shippers), and the other 1% is genuinely important shit... that isnt going to be solved in any productive way by insulting '''the other side''' online. arguing with strangers online never changes anyones mind all youre doing is making yourself *and* your cause look annoying as hell :thumbsup: maybe chill out. find a hobby.

[crowleycorvid]

Hey don't cry. Harumi okay?

[kawoid]

universes colliding

[ki1ldeer]

Classes started… already sick of this (I haven’t even been to my first class yet). Drew my boys to decompress ✌️😞

[lamentfulwarbler]

Chuuya Week Day 5 - Alternate Universe

(Drawn for @chuuyaweek2024 ‘s Chuuya Week)

-

Textless version under the cut

[ratguy-nico]

okey today was a waste. I didn't want to start something new because I have no head for that. So I start working in a scketch from months ago. and get instantly regret with the result, but hey…I tried to do something so dont be harsh on me.

I bring up all the layers so you couldn't see how awful it is. And also because my process is a mess.

[noxiousidiocy]

I’ve been dead for a while but have this