The 20 Most Powerless People in the Art World: 2024 Edition
Our annual list recognizes and celebrates those in our community who are left in the shadows of the powerful.
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20. Tomato Soup — Hoisted by Andy Warhol into the spotlight in the 1960s, it has since become the medium of dissent as eco-protesters in museums splash it on the artistic commodities of the oligarch class. Maybe our palates have just moved on, but splashing ramen or udon dishes on art doesn’t quite have the same impact.
Honorable Mentions
Climate Activists Who Got Prison Time— War criminals, corporate overlords, and a particular orange-haired American politician who tried to overturn the 2020 election walk free, but two climate activists who are concerned about our future on this planet get thrown in prison? Let them go!
The Indigenous Whirling Log— It’s understandable why some might confuse the Native Whirling Log with the Nazi swastika, but the two are as different as night and day. It’s time to restore the cultural status of the former, and work to uproot the hate that perpetuates the latter.
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