Mishap
The Cleaner Who Binned the Art
One person's installation is another's mess
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Image: Unsplash
Incident ReportCOA / MISHAPS
Accidental Damage Rating
- Repair Cost
- €800,000 (irreparable)
- Curator's Blood Pressure
- 96%
- Embarrassment Level
- 6/10
- Recovered?
- No
- Selfie Involved?
- No
A diligent cleaner scrubbed away a carefully applied patina from a Martin Kippenberger installation, mistaking the artwork for a dirty stain — a recurring hazard of conceptual art.
Kippenberger's piece 'When It Starts Dripping from the Ceiling' featured a rubber trough deliberately coated to look like dried rainwater. A cleaner, doing her job impeccably, removed the 'grime' — and with it, €800,000 of art.
She is in good company. Cleaners have swept up piles of art-confetti in Bolzano, scrubbed grease-spot artworks by Joseph Beuys, and emptied ashtrays that were sculptures. When the art looks like litter, the tidiest employee is the most dangerous.