Cleaning Kippenberger

Martin Kippenberger – ‘Wenn’s anfängt durch die Decke zu tropfen’ 

In 2010 a cleaning woman in museum Ostwall in Dortmund ruined an valuable artwork by German artist Martin Kippenberger by… cleaning it.

The installation was called ‘Wenn’s anfängt durch die Decke zu tropfen’ which translates to  ‘When it starts to drip through the ceiling’.

Kippenberger 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 of the trough clean.

A spokeswoman for the museum 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.

“It is now impossible to return it to it’s original state,” she added

The work had been on loan to the museum from a private collector and was valued by insurers at €800,000.