That you have to go through security checkpoints, that you look at the contents of your handbag – you know all this from airports and other security-sensitive places. In the cultural sector, too, especially at major events such as concerts, there are now often massive entry controls. For some time now, museums have also been tightening their security measures, and visitors are no longer allowed to take even smaller bags into the exhibition areas. The reason: Actions by climate activists who stick to the frames of old master paintings.
After several such incidents occurred in Great Britain in early July, the State Painting Collections have also stepped up their security measures. You can read about them on the Internet in the house rules, on displays at information desks, and sometimes also on posters at the entrance. There it now says: “Objects carried such as bags, regardless of size, as well as coats and jackets, must be deposited in the cloakroom or in the lockers.” In exceptional cases, mostly of a medical nature, the bags are checked and marked so that they can be taken away. The requirements must be implemented by the supervisors. And this is met with the displeasure of the visitors, some of whom had never heard of the pasting campaigns or find the measures simply exaggerated.
But the incidents have since increased. Actions by the so-called “last generation” also took place in Italy, France and Germany in the summer. In Germany, the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden, the Frankfurt Städel and the Berlin Picture Gallery and most recently the Alte Pinakothek in Munich were affected. Here, the activists glued themselves to the historical frame of a 17th-century Rubens painting, which now needs renovation. Director General Bernhard Maaz immediately condemned the action, as had museum directors and the managing director of the German Cultural Council, Olaf Zimmermann, the previous attacks. They are always collections of old masters. Which is why the museums of contemporary art have so far hardly taken any measures, but have made their supervisors aware.
Many museum people condemn the irresponsible treatment of nature and the environment. Efforts are being made everywhere to improve the climate balance. But the actions of the “last generation” meet with incomprehension. Some of the world’s major museums have long since introduced security checkpoints. Let’s hope that this doesn’t have to make school – because of a tube of superglue.