German museum piece falls victim to cleaning lady

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cancel2 2022

Canceled




A cleaning woman at a German museum who mistook a sculpture for an unsightly mess has destroyed the valuable artwork beyond recognition, a spokeswoman for the western city of Dortmund said Thursday.
The cleaner at the city's Ostwall Museum went to work on the Martin Kippenberger installation entitled "When It Starts Dripping From the Ceiling" which was valued by insurers at 800,000 euros ($1.1 million), she said.
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.
"It is now impossible to return it to its original state," the spokeswoman said, adding that the damage had been discovered late last month and that the work had been on loan to the museum from a private collector.
She said that cleaning crews had orders to remain 20 centimetres (eight inches) away from artworks but it was unclear if the woman had received the directive from the external company that employed her.
Works of art not infrequently fall victim to zealous cleaners. In 1986, a "grease stain" by Joseph Beuys valued at around 400,000 euros was mopped away at the Academy of Fine Arts in Duesseldorf, western Germany.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/german-museum-piece-falls-victim-cleaning-lady-184055145.html
 
Why the frick would they value a piece of art representing a water stain on the wall at 1.1 Million Euros?
 
Damocles said:
Why the frick would they value a piece of art representing a water stain on the wall at 1.1 Million Euros?
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Unsightly stains are the modern equivalent of the Sistine chapel ceiling. Get with the modern times, daddio.
 
I need to hire this lady to clean my basement. Determined she is... Dirt is her enemy and there are water stains.
 
DamnYankee said:
Try scrubbing them with white vinegar. If that doesn't work you may need to go muriatic.
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Uhhhhhh.....you shouldn't recommend that to anyone. Using muriatic acid (a sysnonym for hydrochloric acid) unless they know how to work with it safely. Hydrochloric acid is some nasty shit. The HCl vapors can be deadly too. I strongly recommend NOT using it in a confined area like a basement unless you have an acid gas respirator that's properly fitted.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
Uhhhhhh.....you shouldn't recommend that to anyone. Using muriatic acid (a sysnonym for hydrochloric acid) unless they know how to work with it safely. Hydrochloric acid is some nasty shit. The HCl vapors can be deadly too. I strongly recommend NOT using it in a confined area like a basement unless you have an acid gas respirator that's properly fitted.
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You seem to think that the intended readers of my post can't read the label on the container.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
OK, with out googling. How many people here, off the top of your head, know what muriatic acid is and how to handle it safely?
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Damo comes across as an intelligent guy, so I'd guess that he does. Obviously the rest can read.

Your argument seems to be that I should provide a warning label on a post that mentions something potentially dangerous. As usual, it comes down to personal responsibility. I assume that people should have it, and if they don't, they have a good chance at fucking themselves up. You assume that people do not and society should hold their hand when they cross the street.
 
Pay me half of that and I'll go over over there and piss on the floor, recreating the stain in all it's glory.
 
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