A modern art piece that looked like two empty beer cans were nearly trash-canned when workers at the Lisser Art Museum in the Netherlands mistook it for garbage. All The Good Times We Spent Together by French artist Alexandre Lavet, a piece displayed in a glass lift as part of an exhibit. The artwork was mistaken for trash by a museum mechanic assigned to the task of maintaining it and discarded.
The work, painstakingly made over weeks and deliberately damaged to look like an empty beer can, was described by the museum as a celebration of “golden times together with friends” enjoying drinks. Using the tradition of food preparation and consumption as a thread to explore, the museum forces one to take a second look at everyday objects. “Working with everyday objects in an unconventional way helps you appreciate them,” says museum director Sietske van Zanten.
Van Zanten wanted the lift installation to catch visitors off-guard, as he prefers to exhibit art somewhere unexpected than on a pedestal or wall. Crane mechanic accidentally goes for a surprise crust and not only wastes it himself, but also saves you from eating the rotten part.
The cans had gone missing sometime over the weekend while curator Elisah van den Bergh had been away on a short break and were found to be missing upon her return, she says. Local social media helped police quickly recover the artwork, which had been placed in a garbage bag for disposal. Incredibly, the artists survived all that time in a landfill.
The cans however are just fine after a quick wipe down and have been returned to their pride of place at the front entrance of the museum. In this case, the artwork is now given a new, classically shaped pedestal, that, while no doubt places the light back on at it in less risky vantage point.
