Cheers to modern art’s can-do spirit

Imagine this. You step into a lift, and there they are two lonely beer cans sitting in the corner, looking a bit too hungover for their own good. What’s your move? Chuck ’em in the bin? Call housekeeping for a quick clean up? Well, that’s exactly what one very responsible staff member at the LAM Museum in Lisse, the Netherlands, did when he spotted what looked like two crushed cans chilling in the lift. Naturally, he binned them. But, of course, they were not empty beer cans – they were part of a hand-painted art work by French artist Alexandre Lavet, lovingly titled ‘All The Good Times We Spent Together’. So, why were these artful faux-cans loitering in a lift instead of sitting on a fancy plinth? ‘We try to surprise visitors all the time. Our art encourages people to see everyday objects in a new light,’ museum officials explained as if the world is as familiar with Roland Barthes as they are with pints of Stella.

Thankfully, the cans were saved just in time and are back in the gallery, sitting, no longer mingling with the general waste. The real takeaway? In the world of modern art, anything can be a masterpiece. What is required is context. A beer can? Sure. An AC mistakenly revered as a great installation? Why not? Just be careful, though – your next recycling run might be a little more culturally significant than you think.