Art Is Obviously In The Eyes Of The Beholder

Martin Kippenberger at his METRO-Net Subway st...

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday John Hinderaker at Power Line posted a story about a cleaning woman at the Ostwall Museum in Dortmund, Germany, who damaged a sculpture while cleaning it.

The article reports:

A cleaning woman at a museum in Dortmund who mistook a Martin Kippenberger sculpture for an unsightly mess has destroyed the valuable artwork beyond recognition.

The cleaner at the city’s Ostwall Museum went to work on the Kippenberger installation entitled “When It Starts Dripping From the Ceiling” which was valued by insurers at €800,000 ($1.1 million), a museum spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The late contemporary master had created a tower of wooden slats under which a rubber trough was placed with a thin beige layer of paint representing dried rain water. Taking it for an actual stain, the cleaner scrubbed the surface until it gleamed.

 I’m sorry. I find this hilarious. I guess I just don’t understand how art is valued. The cleaning lady can come to my house any time she wants–she obviously likes things clean and neat!

Enhanced by Zemanta