Max Geller flipping off a Renoir while being physically removed by museum security

Max Geller is an American performance artist and human rights activist.[1] Part of the Jewish left, Geller is an organizer and activist for Palestinian human rights, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS).[2]

Geller’s activism often employs non-traditional tactics, drawing on performance art, erudite references and irony to provoke social discomfort without expressing an explicit political agenda.[3] His performance art, on the other hand, frequently relies on methods of activism, blurring the lines between art and politics.[1]

Most famously, Geller is the founder of #renoirsucksatpainting, a tongue-in-cheek social movement to remove the paintings of Auguste Renoir from museums around the world.[4] He has frequently leveraged the Renoir Sucks at Painting project into media coverage for the BDS movement and other social causes.[5]

Early life

While in college, Geller and a friend conned their way into an appearance on the television arbitration show Judge Mathis, which aired in 2005.[6] Geller wrote a script for their disagreement, which the show presented at face value. Geller's experiences as a boat captain have been broadcast on This American Life.[7]

Anti-Zionist activism

Geller is an active member of many groups organizing on behalf of Palestinian liberation, such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and Palestine Action, and he has been a frequent contributor to a variety of conferences and journals.[8]

A Palestinian flag presented on the Temple of Giza, a 2009 stunt which Geller claims to have been a part of.

Students for Justice in Palestine

While Geller was a student at Northeastern Law School, he was president of the local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). In 2013, the group staged a walkout of a presentation by Israeli soldiers, and the school put them on administrative probation.[9] SJP then delivered mock eviction letters to students, which resulted in the group's suspension.[10] Geller defended the incident in an op-ed in the Boston Globe[2] and an appearance on Democracy Now!.[11]

New Orleans City Council Israel protest bill

In 2017, Geller was involved with the New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity Committee (NOPSC), which lobbied the New Orleans City Council to pass a Boycott Divestment and Sanctions bill, in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.[12] The bill passed, but was met with backlash from Zionist groups. The wording of the bill hadn’t explicitly named Israel, opting instead to target “human-rights violators,” but was nonetheless subjected to counter-lobbying by Zionist groups, who claimed the city council had been tricked by NOPSC. Shortly after passing the bill, the city council rescinded it.[13]

Palestine Action

Geller is a spokesperson for Palestine Action, an activist group which opposes companies that it accuses of supplying weaponry to Israel, principally Elbit Systems. Geller has used his platform with the group to promote the use of direct action tactics, including the occupation of Elbit premises, to prevent their manufacture of military technologies.[14][15]

Campaign against Renoir

Geller has organized a campaign against the artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir both online and through various protests.[6] In February 2015, Geller created the Instagram account and began posting images of paintings by Renoir, with captions criticizing both the artist and the institutions that hang his art.[16] In May 2015, Renoir's great-great-granddaughter responded to one of the Instagram posts, entering into an argument with Geller, garnering some media attention.[17][6] On October 5, 2015, Geller organized an anti-Renoir protest outside the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.[18] The protest garnered criticism in the Boston Globe by Sebastian Smee, a Pulitzer prize-winning art critic, and Geller responded by publicly challenging Smee to a duel.[19] The feud gained media attention, especially after a second protest outside the Metropolitan Museum of New York.[4][20] Geller continued to organize anti-Renoir protests at art museums in major cities around the country.[21] After a protest at the Art Institute of Chicago, Geller was a guest on a local news station, where he expanded the focus of his movement from Renoir's paintings themselves to the misogyny and white supremacy of the canon at large. "At the end of the day," he said, "it’s about access, who has access to our museums... I think the Art Institute should sell some of these Renoirs...and instead buy some art that is painted by women or people of color."[22]

References

  1. 1 2 "Renoir Hater Is a Pro-Palestinian Activist". artnet News. October 8, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Northeastern University limits free speech". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ ""God hates Renoir": He sucks at painting, and this is why you should care". Salon.com. November 10, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Protesters Demand Metropolitan Museum Remove 19 Renoir Paintings". Hyperallergic. October 19, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  5. ↑ Nathan-KazisNovember 7, Josh; Geller, 2015Courtesy of Max (November 7, 2015). "When Anti-Israel Activist Blasts Renoir, Media Sits Up and Takes Notice". The Forward. Retrieved January 3, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 3 Shapiro, Lila (October 8, 2015). "Leader Of 'Renoir Sucks' Movement Challenges Critic To A Duel To The Death". HuffPost. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  7. ↑ "797: What I Was Thinking As We Were Sinking". This American Life. April 22, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Canary Mission". canarymission.org. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Free Speech Debate Rekindled At Northeastern". On Campus | WGBH.org Blogs. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Mock eviction notices lead to suspension of NU's Students for Justice in Palestine". The Huntington News. March 14, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  11. ↑ "A War on Campus? Northeastern University Suspends Students for Justice in Palestine Chapter". Democracy Now!. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  12. ↑ Chávez, Aída (January 11, 2018). "New Orleans City Council Passes Measure Pushed By BDS Activists". The Intercept. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  13. ↑ Chávez, Aída (January 26, 2018). "New Orleans City Council Caves to Pressure From Jewish Groups, Rescinds Human Rights Resolution". The Intercept. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  14. ↑ Barrows-Friedman, Nora (January 17, 2022). "Podcast Ep 49: How UK activists closed an Israeli arms factory for good". The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  15. ↑ "The Real News Podcast: Meet the activists fighting Zionism with direct action on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Renoir Sucks At Painting (@renoir_sucks_at_painting) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Renoir Heir Strikes Back at Haters". artnet News. October 6, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  18. ↑ Gajanan, Mahita (October 6, 2015). "'Renoir sucks at painting' movement demands removal of artist's works". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  19. ↑ Smee, Sebastian. "Review | More and more people loathe Renoir. Is it time for a revival?". Washington Post. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Un Américain veut chasser Renoir des musées" (in French). October 16, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  21. ↑ Buchel, Madeline (January 19, 2016). "'Renoir Sucks' movement questions deeper meaning in fine art". The DePaulia. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  22. ↑ "The guy who hates Renoir comes to Chicago". WGN-TV. October 26, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
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