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Vienna museum tilts paintings to illustrate climate change threat

Gustav Klimt's well-known Attersee lake painting, among other works of art, tilted by Vienna's Leopold Museum to draw attention to how unchecked climate change could affect landscapes.

Vienna museum tilts paintings to illustrate climate change threat
The exhibition placard hangs next to the stairs of the Leopold Museum in Vienna, on March 22, 2023. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Gustav Klimt’s well-known Attersee lake painting tilted by two degrees, Egon Schiele’s painting of a tree in late autumn rotated by five degrees. As part of the initiative “A Few Degrees More”, Vienna’s Leopold Museum has tilted 15 paintings by the number of degrees unchecked climate change could affect the landscapes depicted.

The initiative, launched on Wednesday, comes after climate activists poured black liquid over a glass screen protecting a Klimt piece at the museum. “We want to contribute to raise awareness of the dramatic consequences of the climate crisis,” museum director Hans-Peter Wipplinger said.

Developed together with the research network Climate Change Center Austria, the action runs until late June.

Wipplinger dismissed the November “attack” — one of a string of similar protests by activists in London, Rome and other cities to highlight the climate emergency — as “absolutely the wrong way” to raise awareness.

READ ALSO: Is Austria doing enough to protect children from the climate crisis?

Following the protest, the museum put more works behind glass screens, increased watches and introduced stricter controls at the entrance, he said. “But in the end, we can’t exclude this” from happening again, Wipplinger said, regretting the increased costs incurred by the measures — and the higher insurance premiums.

Sofie Skoven, an 18-year-old student from Denmark visiting Vienna with her class, said the sight of the tilted paintings “of beautiful places” made her sad.

“It makes you want to do something about it — it reminds you of what’s going to be lost,” she told AFP.

Another visitor, Joachim Burdack, was less impressed. “I think it trivialises climate change,” the 71-year-old German retiree told AFP. 

READ ALSO: What are the biggest threats facing Austria this year?

It was too easy to get used to the tilted works, he added.

The Leopold Museum, with its 6,000 artworks, houses one of the world’s most important collections of Austrian art, focusing on the second half of the nineteenth century and subsequent Modernism.

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ENVIRONMENT

Google Maps deletes AI photos of Austrian landmarks after climate change

Google on Saturday deleted from its maps service dozens of images of Austrian landmarks that were altered by environmental activists to highlight the potential impact of climate change.

Google Maps deletes AI photos of Austrian landmarks after climate change

The images, changed using artificial intelligence, showed the river Danube and Austrian lakes dried up and snowless Alpine peaks as though the pictures were taken in the year 2070.

They were put on Google Maps this week by the Letzte Generation (Last Generation) group.

“Our policies clearly prohibit content that is not based on real experience or does not accurately represent a location. We are removing the policy-violating photos in question,” a Google spokesperson told AFP.

Letzte Generation said it was “not very surprised” by Google’s action.

“They are ignoring the climate catastrophe, just like authorities and big companies in general,” said group spokesperson Marina Hagen-Canaval.

The group said earlier that it had posted the pictures on Google Maps to alert tourists who use the service to prepare their holidays of the risks of rising temperatures caused by climate change.

Letzte Generation has staged other protest stunts including blocking highways and has vowed to take more action, including on the internet.

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