The Conversation (0)
Josh Withey
Feb 12, 2017
LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner 's 24 hour livestream art project, launched to coincide with Donald Trump's inauguration, has been shut down after it became a 'flash point for violence'.
When the project, titled He Will Not Divide Us was first launched, LaBeouf himself shouted at a white supremacist in an intimidating and slightly worrying manner.
It seems however, that things have only escalated since then, with rowdy crowds grouping around the live webcam and causing disruption.
The piece of work by the trio LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner was forced to shut down this weekend because of these incidents.
In a statement explaining the closure of the exhibit, the Museum of the Moving Image explained:
Over the course of the installation, there have been dozens of threats of violence and numerous arrests, such that police felt compelled to be stationed outside the installation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
...Ending our engagement with the installation is the most prudent path forward to restore public safety to the Museum, its visitors, staff, and the community.
One of the final groups to appear on webcam were a number of shirtless men, some with tattoos relating to the Nazi party and the Third Reich.
In the footage captured, one man walks up to the camera and says:
You need an ice cold glass of pure racism, get it down you.
Another man says to the camera:
Hey all you non-whites, I can do this and you can't.
Before chugging down the milk.
On internet forums like 4Chan, Milk has rapidly become a symbol of white supremacy.
Mic explain in a recent article that "Some white supremacists think white ethnic identity has a geographic, historical correlation with the body's tolerance for milk".
Using posts from the notorious trolling forum, users have reasoned - in their own twisted logic - that certain populations who struggle to digest lactose are 'weaker' or 'inferior'.
They accompany these ridiculous and highly offensive theories with racist and xenophobic poetry, and link directly to the video of the shirtless men.
Since the closure of the He Will Not Divide Us exhibition, Shia LaBeouf has tweeted an image reading: "The museum has abandoned us."
In its short lived time, the live webcam also featured actor and musician Jaden Smith, who appeared on the feed a few weeks ago.
You can read more about milk's new symbolism in white supremacist circles over at Mic.
Update 12/02/17: This article has been updated to include the names of all the artists involved in the creation of He Will Not Divide Us - LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner.
The original article incorrectly only referred to LaBeouf. This has been amended.
You can find out more about the artist's work at thecampaignbook.com.
More: A white supremacist tried to interrupt a livestream by Shia LaBeouf and it got scary