Beer can sculpture gets unwittingly tossed away in the trash by museum employee

[Orange]

A French artist’s work nearly met a trashy end when it was mistaken for garbage and tossed away at the Lisser Art Museum in the Netherlands. 

 

The piece, titled All The Good Times We Spent Together by Alexandre Lavet, is a pair of hyper-realistic, hand-painted beer cans meant to evoke memories of shared moments with friends. Unfortunately, a technician saw the artwork in the elevator and assumed the discarded-looking cans were litter.

 

According to the Dutch museum, the artwork, resembling dented, empty beer cans, symbolizes the small but precious moments people share while drinking together. It was part of a collection that focuses on themes of food and consumption, placed deliberately in an unconventional spot by the museum’s director, Sietske van Zanten, who believes that art should surprise its audience by appearing in unexpected places.
 

However, this creative display backfired when the mechanic discarded the piece.

 

Well, as they say, one man’s art is another man’s trash.

 

Curator Elisah van den Bergh discovered the sculpture was missing upon her return from a short break. A frantic search ensued, and to the institution’s relief, the cans were found in a garbage bag, just ready to be taken away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by LAM museum (@lam_museum)

 

 

After some careful cleaning, the museum reported that the piece was miraculously unharmed.

 

Now, the cans are displayed in a safer spot—on a pedestal near the museum’s entrance—making sure they get the spotlight they deserve. The museum says it doesn’t blame the staff member, remarking that his mistake could even be seen as a compliment to Lavet’s work for its convincing appearance.

 

• https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/beer-can-artwork-thrown-dustbin-b2625521.html 
• https://news.sky.com/story/artwork-recovered-after-museum-employee-threw-piece-in-bin-13230351 
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8705j33jyzo 
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/08/beer-can-artwork-lam-museum-thrown-out-all-the-good-times-we-spent-together 
• https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/style/beer-can-artwork-trash-scli-intl/index.html 

 

 

Opening image: Fotiglobe | Dreamstime.com