Elevator mechanic mistakes artwork for trash, throws it out

An elevator mechanic mistakenly threw out a piece of artwork, made to look like empty beer cans, assuming it was litter, a Dutch museum revealed earlier this month. 

The artwork, called “All the good times we spent together” by French artist Alexandre Lavet, consists of what appears to be two beer cans in a glass elevator shaft, as if to suggest they were left behind by construction workers. 

However, the LAM Museum in Lisse said in a Dutch statement, translated into English, that if you look closely, “you will discover that the dented and empty cans are hand-painted. Every detail has been painted onto the cans with precision using acrylic paint.”

The museum presents its art collection in unexpected places, not necessarily on walls or pedestals, the statement explained.

“The theme of our art collection is food and consumption,” said Sietske van Zanten, the museum director. “We let you look at everyday things in a special way through art. By presenting the works of art differently, that effect is increased. You are surprised time and time again.”

The search for the artwork began once a curator discovered the display was missing.

It was found in a trash bag, “miraculously, both cans were found intact.”

The cans have been cleaned and are now on display again, temporarily at the entrance of the museum on a traditional pedestal this time, “to put the work in the spotlight,” curator Elisah van den Bergh said in the statement. They haven’t revealed yet where the artwork will be displayed next.

“No place is unthinkable for us.”

The LAM Museum says it bears no ill will toward the elevator mechanic, who had replaced the regular mechanic who knew the museum inside and out.

“He did his job to the best of his ability,” van Zanten said. “On a positive note, it is a compliment to artist Alexandre Lavet.”