Posted on 11/07/2011 2:45:53 PM PST by Red Badger
BERLIN - A modern art installation valued at euro800,000 ($1.1 million) was damaged after an overzealous cleaning woman scrubbed away a patina intended to look like a dried rain puddle, a Dortmund official said Friday.
Martin Kippenberger's "When it Starts Dripping from the Ceiling" remains in place at the city's Ostwall museum, despite the damage sustained earlier this month when a cleaner scrubbed away the painted puddle beneath a rubber trough placed under a stacked tower of wooden slats.
The work by Kippenberger, a German-born artist who died in 1997, was on loan to the museum from a private collector, who agreed that it should remain on display despite the incident, said Dortmund city spokeswoman Dagmar Papajewski. In the meantime, insurance adjusters are assessing the damage.
It has not yet been decided whether the patina would be restored, or if the artwork would be left in its newly "cleaned" condition, Papajewski said.
"It will be up to the collector to decide," Papajewski said. "We can't consult Kippenberger about it."
Papajewski said the company that employed the cleaning staff had instructed them to stay at least 20 centimeters (8 inches) away from the artwork and it was not clear why the patina had fallen victim to the woman's scrubbing brush.
"This company has been working with us since last October," Papajewski said.
Kippenberger's works have been displayed at New York's Museum of Modern Art and London's Tate Modern.
You must be very wealthy!
Everywhere you look there’s a Masterpiece!........
Modern Art can be a booger with a hair in it!
If so, was it a government agency?
Just add a grille and some steaks and we can have a BBQ!.............
Something like this merits a US work visa for anyone needing a hardworking results oriented maid.
She should be certain to secure a before picture of the “artwork” and include with the after picture for her resume’ and current job search.
But it can’t be a half flushed Koran.
No, it was a private collector.
Fools and their money........
“Oh Geez, not this stuff again”. ;-)
How was she supposed to tell?
Globull Warming would have ruined it in a few years anyway.
"..nooo I ..noooo I ...noooo"
If it was painted on to look like patina, then it wasn’t patina by definition...just paint.
If the Germans can afford to pay 1.1 mil for 50 bucks worth of junk then they can afford to bail out the Greeks.
Ping.
Wheres the lil bamboo shoot that belongs in the pan?
Note to self: Change names of latest artworks to something different from “Pile of Crap in the Corner” and “Stuff I’ve Been Meaning to Throw Out For Years”.
Have any of you seen that POS blue horse with its glowing red eyes at the entrance to the Denver International Airport?
[Gagging sounds]
the cleaning woman cleaned inside the bucket? how could she be that stupid to touch any of the art?
If the common man can’t tell the difference between your “art” and garbage, it’s garbage.
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