Why throw soup at Mona Lisa?

Carilyn Pointer- Protestors from an environmental group threw orange colored soup at Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris. The artwork is covered by bullet proof glass, so it sustained no damage. Which makes many wonder why do it? By uncovering more about the protestor’s organization and platform, their goals and motives become clearer, turning a random event into one of meaning.

The protestors are a part of Riposte Alimentaire, a coalition of protest groups concerned with the health and sustainability of the food system. This group is an example of a non-state actor which aims to assert their influence on the global stage, separate from a government organization. This also includes terrorist groups, insurgency groups, revolutionary forces, businesses, and social movements. With the world becoming increasingly globalized and interconnected, the presence of more non-state actors grows more relevant and impactful. So what impact was this environmental group going for? This can be answered by the questions the protestors asked the crowd after they threw soup. The protestors asked, “What is more important? Art or the right to have a healthy and sustainable food system?” They were drawing attention to their platform, and what they consider a crisis. By understanding the goals and viewpoints of non-state actors it can help predict how they will act in the future.

This wasn’t the first-time prominent pieces of artwork have been targeted to make a political statement, which furthers the point that the Mona Lisa wasn’t chosen because of the art itself, but of the media attention targeting it would elicit. So, the protestors goal wasn’t to destroy the Mona Lisa, since they intentionally chose a target that was protected by glass, it was to draw attention to their platform. Based on that criteria did they succeed? That answer is complex because the event did make it into international news, but only time will tell if it brings lasting awareness to their platform.

_{Photo Credit:Distributed via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0, Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz).}