Why did this work in homage to Brussels end up in the trash?

You would think that a museum would be the safest place in the world for a work of art. Unless… In an Israeli museum, a five-year-old boy accidentally broke a 3,500-year-old jar installed unprotected at the entrance. The story fortunately ended well since the Hecht Museum decided to invite the boy and his family back in an approach that was more educational than punitive.

An event reminiscent of another, which took place at the Dutch LAM museum this time. French artist Alexandre Lavet’s work entitled “All The Good Times We Spent Together” was this time accidentally thrown in the trash by a mechanic working in the building, who taken for waste. It must be said that the work is deceptive, since it appears in the form of two empty and dented Jupiler beer cans.

From a distance, one might think that they were left abandoned by unscrupulous minds. But, upon closer inspection, we discover that these are not real cans but rather works carefully painted by hand using acrylic paint. “These cans are a tribute to the streets of Brussels, to artists’ studios, friends’ apartments, parties, openings of galleries and artist-run spaces, and to this common and familiar object that brings people together and friends »we can read on the artist’s website.

The work of art is not “a ready-made or a found object like Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and the famous urinal of Marcel Duchamp”but a job that “actually takes a lot of time”declared the museum. What helped to deceive the mechanic was also the location chosen by the LAM museum, which is not content to present its collection of international art on walls or plinths, but prefers unexpected places to surprise visitors. visitors constantly. “We allow you to take a special look at everyday things through art. Presenting works of art differently reinforces this effect. You are surprised every time”explique Sietske van Zanten, director of the museum.

Thus, Alexandre Lavet’s cans had been placed in the glass elevator shaft of the museum, as if they had been left there during the work. So the museum doesn’t blame the elevator mechanic. “He simply did his job conscientiously. It’s actually a compliment to the artist Alexandre Lavet,” continued the museum director. Good news, the museum curator, Elisah Van den Bergh, quickly realized that the cans had disappeared. After a quick search of the trash, the work was recovered safe and sound, and this time placed on a plinth “a temporary place of honor” at the entrance. “To put the work in the spotlight”explained Mr. Van den Bergh. No doubt it will subsequently be presented in a new unusual location. “No place is unthinkable for us. We like to continue to surprise visitors”. A nice publicity stunt for the museum in any case, and for the artist Alexandre Lavet.

Video of the day: Rooftop 58, the new perched bar with panoramic views of Brussels