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Peanut Butter Floor Installation Unveiled in Rotterdam Museum
More than 800 pounds of peanut butter cover a 270-square-foot hexagon at the Depot in Rotterdam. The work recreates a 1969 piece by Wim T. Schippers, who died in June, and remains on view until September 6.
Jul 10, 1:11 AM·1m read1 source
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The Depot, an offshoot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, unveiled a peanut butter floor installation on Thursday. nypost.com reported that more than 800 pounds of the spread were applied across a 270-square-foot hexagon to a thickness of 0.8 inches. Two museum employees spent several days spreading 40 buckets of smooth Calvé peanut butter for the display.
Nypost.com reported the work contains enough peanut butter for 15,000 sandwiches. Leon Duenk, one of the installers, said it was a lot of work. The installation honors Wim T. Schippers, who died June 10 at age 83.
He created the first Pindakaasvloer in 1969 as part of a Floor Covering Series that also featured floors covered in glass shards and salt. Schippers voiced Ernie and Kermit the Frog in the Dutch version of Sesame Street. Before his death, Schippers and the museum agreed on a 20-point plan requiring the peanut butter to be applied as smoothly and boringly as possible, with no one permitted to stand or lie on it.
Calvé donated the 40 tubs used in the current version. The piece was previously displayed in 2011, when multiple visitors stepped on the surface. In 1997 pranksters placed 12 slices of bread and bags of hagelslag sprinkles on the floor at the Central Museum in Utrecht.
Schippers told the Volkskrant newspaper at the time that the sprinkles had been applied with a sense of proportion and a skillful hand. The museum has posted a warning at its entrance for visitors with peanut allergies. This year’s Pindakaasvloer will remain on display until Sept.
6.
