There’s a reason why extremist groups routinely target the art world: because it’s antithetical to their joyless ideology. Squelching freedom, provocation, discussion, and beauty is their goal. The idea of beauty itself offends them, because it implies that some things (and some people) are ugly. Yet pandering to dissident factions propping up the Democrat party has consumed the very people who are being terrorized - creatives.
Historically, tectonic cultural shifts create artistic movements. They emerge as a response to various cultural, social, political, and technological influences. Rebellion against tradition is a big factor. So is globalization and cultural exchange, which can lead to fusion of artistic styles and ideas. Artistic movements are dynamic and often complex. Connecting art with the broader cultural landscape draws people in and unites.
Which is why no true artist can be a Democrat in 2024. COVID, BLM, climate change, and Islamism have ushered in nothing. Despite having nearly all the factors necessary to spearhead an artistic movement, they disavow the most crucial; freedom.
Since 2020 there have been no new artists of distinction representing these ideologies. There have been no new auction records set in the artworld by artists consumed by COVID, devoted to BLM, hypnotized by climate change, or member of the Islamist death cult. There are no new techniques or innovative concepts. There’s no consumer appetite.
Meanwhile, the art world has remained silent for four years, enduring a circular firing squad of vandalism from BLM, Antifa, climate warriors, and Islamists. Which just goes to show that the art world has, indeed, been captured and is now suffering from ideological Stockholm syndrome.
Iconic pieces by world renowned artists have been attacked by various Leftist radical groups. There’s Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, estimated to be worth $860 million. “Activists” from Riposte Alimentaire (Food Response) sprayed the painting made in 1503 with soup, screaming, “What is more important, art or the right to have a healthy and sustainable food system?”
Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, worth $84.2 million, was doused in soup by anti-fossil fuel rebels.
Stop Oil activists glued themselves to the walls of the National Gallery in London.
Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies scrawled graffiti on Warhol’s famous Campbell's soup can paintings at Australia's National Gallery.
Extinction Rebellion Australia glued their hands to a Picasso painting in Victoria.
BLM terrorists defaced, toppled, and in some cases, decapitated priceless, historical, federal monuments; the list goes on.
Islamists are not the latest group of radicals to enter the fray - they’ve been busy leveling creativity for centuries - but they have just broken the glass ceiling. Pace, a top international art gallery representing some of the most influential contemporary artists from the past century, has adopted a terrorist neutral stance.
A spokesperson for Pace said, “Between Friday night and Saturday morning, the exterior of our 540 West 25th Street gallery was vandalized. The vandalism was extensive enough to necessitate the gallery’s closure while we complete clean-up efforts. The safety of our staff and visitors to our galleries is of the utmost importance, as is our commitment to fostering a safe and open workplace that respects differences of thought within our community. We are a gallery that consists of a community of artists and employees, many of whom are actively engaged in socio-political issues and attuned to global events. With this diversity comes divergent viewpoints. In cases of disagreement, we remain committed to supporting meaningful civil discourse.”
For the record, the “diversity” Pace champions bring such “divergent viewpoints” as pro-Palestine messages like “Intifada” and “Free Gaza.” So not only is Pace so open minded to wiping out an entire country, people, and religion, they’re okay with the financial burden of the clean-up and loss of potential sales on Saturday, the busiest day of the week for the gallery? And frankly, Pace’s argument that this is about “diversity of viewpoints” doesn’t pass the laugh test. If Trump supporters, or the few dozen white supremacists who aren’t federal agents, had vandalized their gallery, they would not have proclaimed their commitment to “civil discourse” with such people.
And nor should they with Hamas, or with any group of terrorists. The Left has destroyed education, the military, and entertainment. Blunting art may be looking like the latest scalp for DEI, but that doesn’t mean artists themselves have to take it. Art has faced repression by fanatics for as long as it’s existed but until the artists themselves recognize that their repression is unjust and ugly, art can never hope to break its chains.
