We all know that when you cover somebody else’s job, things don’t always go according to plan.
So bear a thought for the lift engineer who whilst covering the regular employee at the LAM museum in the Netherlands, spotted some empty beer cans which he thought must have been dropped by some construction workers in the museum’s glass lift.
Being meticulous in his work, he thoughtfully chucked the items in the trash.
Unfortunately the two empty beer cans were part of an artwork created by Alexander Lavet in 1988, entitled, “All The Good Times We Spent Together”.
Closer inspection of the items in question would have revealed that the apparently dented items being exhibited were actually “meticulously hand-painted with acrylics, with each detail painstakingly replicated.”
Unlike ready-made found objects, such as the famous urinal by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and Marcel Duchamp, Lavet’s piece required a lot of time and effort to create, we are reliably informed.
When museum officials spotted that the “piece” had vanished, they promptly initiated a search and were delighted when both cans were miraculously retrieved undamaged and intact.
The LAM Museum, which is known for showcasing its international art collection not only on walls and exhibition plinths, but also in unconventional locations, had been exhibiting Lavet’s beer cans piece inside the museum’s glass elevator shaft “as if left behind by construction workers,” the museum said.
“For the artist, the cans symbolise cherished memories shared with dear friends. While evenings spent enjoying drinks may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, they ultimately embody precious moments of connection,” the museum continued.
“The theme of our collection is food and consumption,” Sietske van Zanten, the museum’s director, 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 recovered items have now been cleaned and temporarily awarded a place of honour at the museum entrance, where they have been displayed on a traditional plinth.
“We wanted to give them their moment in the spotlight,” museum curator, Elisah van den Bergh said.
“As for where the artwork will be displayed next, that’s yet to be revealed. We enjoy surprising our visitors, so no space is off-limits.”
The Museum later issued a statement that they bore no ill will towards the lift technician who was just doing his job and acting in good faith.
Leaving the museum behind, in the second hour we took to the skies to join passengers on a QANTAS flight between Sydney and Tokyo.
Departure of the flight had been delayed due to a fault in the aircraft’s in-flight entertainment system, so once airborne the crewe decided to screen the same movie to everyone.
Unfortunately the film chosen featured graphic nudity and a lot of sexting – the kind where you could literally read the texts on screen without needing headphones.
To make matters worse no one was able to turn off, pause or even dim individual screens, so it proved very uncomfortable, especially for those with families and kids on board.
It took almost an hour before the crewe were able to effect a switch to a more kid-friendly movie!
A spokesperson for the airline apologised for the incident, saying they were reviewing just how the originally chosen movie had been selected, as their standard procedure was that, on the rare instances where individual movie selection was not possible, a family friendly movie would routinely be played.
I look forward to your company once again tomorrow,
Scott
