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Jered Eastmond

Jered Eastmond

Jered Eastmond

Twitter Reacts To Vincent Van Gogh Painting Being Vandalized

By Jered Eastmond
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 25: A woman looks at Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers painting at the EY Exhibition: Van Gogh and Britain press day which opens at Tate Britain on March 25, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

Last week there was some pretty shocking news from our United Kingdom friends as a painting by Vincent Van Gogh was vandalized by activists protesting climate change. The sunflower painting held in the National Gallery in England has been there for nearly 100 years and is worth nearly 85 million USD.

Well, two protestors from the group JustStopOil took it upon themselves to hold a surprise public demonstration within the art museum, they did so by giving Van Gogh’s work an update by throwing Soup at the photo and then gluing themselves to the wall.

After they were removed and taken into custody the painting was taken down and inspected for damages as a protective glass was thankfully blocking the art. Officials have since confirmed that the art itself is fine, the only thing damaged beside the wall was the frame, and only slightly.

The pair pled not guilty when they appeared in court this past weekend to vandalism, however, they were not the only protestors from the group to make headlines as media attention quickly criticized the group’s methods on Twitter, here are some of the reactions we were able to find.

  • What Did Van Gogh Do?

    I understand why they did it to the Van Gogh painting, because it would generate attention and a reaction, though I don’t think the term all attention is good attention applies here. To the group they are quoted as saying “What’s more important art or food and housing?”

  • I Was Confused Also!

    When I first saw this I didn’t have time to look up any of the details, I just knew okay they threw soup at his painting. So I asked myself like many others I’m sure, did Van Gogh do something terrible? Cause when you normally see something like this happening it sometimes is because historical figures are being cancelled. But no it had nothing to do with him or his art.

  • Let The Meme's Begin

    Of course the internet did not sleep on a chance to make memes about the issue, with all types of videos and pictures being compared to the incident. But after watching the official incident I would say this is one of my favorite. It’s a classic meme and one that is almost universal.

  • At Least Pick A Better Soup.

    I’m not saying this is something I or you should ever do…But if I were gonna throw soup at expensive art I would spice it up a bit. I mean Tomato soup is a classic, but there are so many better choices, like clam chowder would be a nightmare to clean. Maybe that’ll be the next post what soup is the best throwing soup?

  • Slime Time!

    As a kid I watched the nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award always wanting to be slimed at least once. But now that I’m older no thank you. I do not want to know the experience of trying to get that out of your hair. At that point leave me in the slime. But I can see why the didn’t want to leave the painting covered in soup.

  • It Just Gets Worse

    Just when I think I’m at the bottom of the barrel to my shock there’s more! This isn’t surprising seeing at the crypto market has become so popular in our current culture. Just a shame it’s not stable whatsoever and currently crashing according to some reports. But while some appreciate what the group is trying to achieve they disapprove of their destructive methods.

  • Can We Get A Remake?

    https://twitter.com/ES_Wickham/status/1580955719360483332

    I would love to see someone either clip that scene over the video it, or better yet just recreate that scene with the soup over his paintings. I haven’t brushed up on my editing in a bit, but I might have a new passion project.

  • Doing Tricks.

    https://twitter.com/FGRAdam/status/1581008246424600576

    The term turning over in the grave is probably an understatement. My man Vincent is probably doing 360 tricks in his grave. Kidding of course, but it is crazy when you think, what would he think about seeing someone throw food at his art? I know I would be pretty upsettispaggeti.

  • Who Would Ever Do This?

    Like I said thankfully no damage was done to the painting itself, but if it were lets say a replica and got ruined. I wouldn’t even throw it away I would keep it as a memory of “Remember when they threw soup at this. Yeahhhhh wild times.” Though I’m not sure what movie this was from, maybe before my time.

  • Uno Reverse!

    This is my second favorite post about the issue, if somebody actual starts throwing sunflowers at pictures of soup cans you have won the internet. That’s it no more memes or anything shut it all down. Or better yet throw sunflowers at cans in the store. I advise you don’t do this, but it is a funny thought.

  • Just Why?

    This was the other incident that took place where they shot paint at a sign in New Scotland Yard. This activist was also arrested for their actions so it’s a bit crazy to see all of this happening. The group that day also blocked traffic and caused major disturbances throughout the day.

  • Only 30 Minutes Till Clock Out.

    As someone who used to work in the food industry, I can say when we knew something someone was gonna be a tough customer and we sometimes it was tough to hold our frustration in. It’s apart of the job of course, but you still gotta feel bad for the people who have to clean up the aftermath.

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