Dutch lift mechanic mistakes museum art for rubbish, throws it out

There are mitigating circumstances though, as the artwork – a 1988 piece titled “All the good times we spent together” by Alexandre Levet – consists of two dented aluminium tins painstakingly hand-painted with acrylics to resemble empty beer cans.

Added to that, its “showcase” position at the LAM museum in Lisse, was inside the museum’s glass lift shaft, as if left behind by construction workers, the museum said in a release.

A lift technician working at the museum took them for abandoned rubbish and bagged them for a bin.

The alarm was raised after curator Elisah van den Bergh realised the cans had gone missing, and a thorough search uncovered them in the bin bag, luckily before it had been disposed of.

The cans, thankfully intact, were cleaned and put on a more obvious display on a plinth at the museum’s entrance.

Van den Bergh said they wanted to give the piece its “moment in the spotlight”.

Lavet’s piece symbolises the importance of memories shared with friends – even down to the importance of something as seemingly trivial as a couple of shared beers.

”The theme of our collection is food and consumption,” museum director Sietske van Zanten said.

“Our art encourages visitors to see everyday objects in a new light. By displaying artworks in unexpected places, we amplify this experience and keep visitors on their toes.”

The museum said the technician, who was a temporary fill-in for their regular technician who was more familiar with the museum’s exhibits, would not be blamed.

“He was just doing his job in good faith,” van Zanten said.

“In a way, it’s a testament to the effectiveness of Alexandre Lavet’s art.”