Beheadings of Women Statues in Austria and Texas Raise Threat Level Against Artists

ARC Demands Institutions Take Immediate Measures to Protect Artwork and Artists from Right-Wing Extremist Groups

July 12, 2024

In the first eight days of July, two publicly-displayed statues of women, created by women artists, have been beheaded in Austria and the United States, following protests by right-wing extremists, continuing a global trend of gender-based attacks and threats on artwork. On July 1, “Crowning,” a sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus was beheaded at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Linz, Austria, and on July 8, the sculpture “Witness,” which is a monument to women and justice, suffered a similar fate at the University of Houston, where the sculpture was installed on campus. Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) condemns these attacks and demands the institutions involved take immediate steps to protect the art and support measures for the safety of the artists.

“The two shocking attacks on sculptures, which are intended to challenge patriarchal norms and visibilize women, are prime examples of the disregard of safety for artists and their artwork by institutions,” said Julie Trébault, Managing Director of ARC. “Despite the public protests and threats, these sculptures were left vulnerable, and the response by authorities to refer to the attacks as ‘vandalism’ demonstrates a continued failure to understand the significance and the messaging intended by the perpetrators. These incidents should be investigated as hate crimes.” 

Both statues depicting women have been the target of right-wing protests, which have escalated to physical violence. The “Crowning” statue, by Austrian artist Esther Strauss, was met with protesters in front of the Church, who accused it of being “blasphemous” and “scandalous,” and organized a petition to have it removed, before the physical assault. According to the Linz diocese, the sculpture was part of an installation art project on women’s roles, family images and gender equality. The “Witness” sculpture by Pakistani-American artist, Shahzia Sikander, was also subjected to protests, including an organized campaign by anti-abortion activists who called it “satanic,” which resulted in the cancellation of an opening celebration in February. The statue itself is meant to be an homage to women’s roles in shaping law, and challenging the notion that lawgivers are only men.

The clear gender violence component of the attacks sends a chilling message, regardless of other political issues involved in the statues. While the “Crowning” seems to have generated resentment among so-called ‘Catholic traditionalists’ and “Witness” has been interpreted by anti-abortion activists in the context of that social issue, the physical beheading of the women in the statutes occurs in a social context in which right-wing, authoritarian and patriarchal political forces are emergent in Europe and the United States. ARC maintains that physical assaults on inanimate artistic productions not only aim to cancel artistic freedom, but serve as a threat to artists’ physical safety themselves. 

ARC demands the institutions in Linz and Houston take immediate action to protect the art installations and also offer support for the physical safety of the artists. Furthermore, police should investigate these incidents not merely as acts of vandalism, but as hate crimes.