Landscapes of Culture

This paper offers to rethink about the relationship between culture and nature, particularly in the context of performative direct actions within the climate movement. Museums, as the guardians of art and culture, the spaces of visibility for and exposition of culture and history, are confined public spaces where the climate activists penetrate in an attempt to make the public deliberate on issues affecting the future of the planet. How and why do they consider their gestures targeting the artworks, such as throwing soup or paint onto paintings, as nonviolent direct actions, as opposed to most of the media and justice system labeling them as violent, criminal acts of vandalism? As one of the activists expresses, “far from destroying but fostering a form of sensitivity” from within the heart of culture, “works [are] chosen to bring visibility to the spaces and landscapes we're about to lose.” These direct actions revisit the relationship between culture and nature, rather than using culture as a framework to give meaning to nature. Their meaning shifts into interdependent, relational, and transactional concepts on different levels.