A Dutch museum had to pick artwork out of the bin after a member of staff thought the display, which consisted of two empty beer cans, was leftover rubbish.
All The Good Times We Spent Together by French artist Alexandre Lavet shows two dented beer cans on the floor. They were displayed inside the museum’s elevator as if they had been left behind by construction workers.
But a closer look “reveals that these dented cans were carefully hand-painted with acrylic”, said the LAM museum in Lisse.
But an elevator technician thought the art was just leftovers from lazy visitors and threw it in the trash.
When a curator discovered that the artwork was missing, staff were tasked with looking for it, the museum said on its website.
Eventually it was discovered in a bin and “miraculously both cans were found intact”, it said.
The cans were cleaned and placed at the museum’s entrance.
Despite the mishap, the museum says it “bears no ill will towards the elevator that made the mistake”, which was covered up by someone “well acquainted with the building and its exhibits”.
“The theme of our collection is food and consumption,” said Sietske van Zanten, the museum’s director.
“Our art encourages visitors to see everyday objects in a new light. By displaying works of art in unexpected places, we enhance this experience and keep visitors on their toes.”