Someone’s organising an actual mosh pit in front of the Mona Lisa and you’re all invited

See you down the front.

The Mona Lisa hangs in the Louvre art museum in Paris, where people jostle daily to get a glimpse of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting.

People have been likening the hectic crowds in front of the Renaissance portrait to mosh pits for years, but now someone has arranged an actual pit in front of the famous artwork.

18-year-old Belgian architecture student Arno Major has set up a Facebook event for ‘Mosh pit in front of the Mona Lisa’, due to happen in the Louvre on February 10 at 2.35pm local time (1.35pm GMT).

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At time of writing, the event has 771 attending and 4,900 interested.

Mona Lisa mosh pit Facebook event page
The event’s Facebook page

But why?

“In Belgium there’s this thing on Facebook where people make all sorts of random stupid events that make no sense at all, for example ‘Belgian championship for the longest time driving left with a Fiat Multipla’, and all those kinds of stupid events,” Arno tells NME.

“So last week I was in Paris with a friend and we decided to go to the Louvre. I’ve been there a lot so I kinda know my way around a bit and the room where the Mona Lisa hangs is always fully packed with tourists who just take one stupid picture of the painting and then leave again without actually giving themselves a moment to enjoy all the art around them.

“So I just made this joke to my friend – what would happen if we start an actual mosh pit? It was just a simple joke and then we instantly had the idea to make a Facebook event because we thought art can be less static too.

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“So it was actually meant as a joke and I never really imagined it would blow up in the way it already has.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcnO6pyBPVK/?taken-by=arnomajor

The joke Facebook events trend in Belgium is usually just that – a joke – and they don’t normally actually happen, so does Arno have any intention of going to his own event?

“Right now the event is getting shared by like people who are into mosh pits I guess, but to be honest I really have no idea if someone would legitimately turn up and start a mosh pit…!” he says.

“It’s really a random date and time and all, so if I’m free I think I might go there and see if something happens.

“But I’m a massive art fanatic so I wouldn’t want to get in trouble!”

But it turns out the event organiser isn’t actually that into moshing.

“I’m a massive Bon Iver fan – he’s my fave – so to be honest I’m not really a mosh pit type of guy,” Arno tells us.

“But I was at a Mac DeMarco concert a few months ago where one got started and of course I had some fun!”

 

You can register your interest in the Mona Lisa mosh pit here.

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