Published on March 28, 2023 at 1:29 p.m.
Why did this museum tilt its paintings a few degrees? – © Jean-Marc Pierard / iStock
Fifteen paintings from the Leopold Museum in Vienna have been deliberately tilted by the curators of the exhibition to warn of the climate emergency.
In order to convey a visual representation of the effects of global warming on global temperature, fifteen paintings from the exhibition “Vienna 1900. Birth of Modernism” have been tilted by the curators of the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria.
Indeed, this increase could lead to the disappearance of many landscapes, especially those represented on these now tilted paintings, such as Lake Attersee in Upper Austria, the Alps and the Atlantic coast. UN experts estimate that the global annual temperature could reach +2.7°C by the end of the century, or even +4.4°C.
Explanatory panels have been affixed next to each work to raise awareness among visitors and encourage them to change their habits and engage politically in favor of the climate.
MUSEUMS, ESSENTIAL PLAYERS IN SUSTAINABILITY
This committed initiative, called “A Few Degrees More”, testifies to the role of museums as key players in supporting climate action. For Hans-Peter Wipplinger, director of the Leopold Museum, art museums are “places where people can discover the world through the prism of an artist and where they come face to face with subjects, ways of thinking and views on the world that can sometimes be disturbing, stimulating or provocative,” he said in a statement.
In solidarity with the goals of the climate movement, the museum presents its exhibition until June 26, 2023 and also offers thematic tours focusing on climate change every Sunday at 2 p.m. until the end of the exhibition.