Museum Workers Fired After Desperately Displaying Their Works At The Gallery

Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany. (Wikimedia Commons/GraphyArchy)

JAKARTA - A museum worker in Germany was fired after being desperate to display his paintings in the gallery for several hours, before being caught and demoted by authorities, leaving him in trouble with the police.

The exhibition technician was 51 years old and proclaimed himself as a freelance arts smuggling one of his paintings into the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany, on February 26 and hanging it on the wall of one of the galleries, according to German tabloid S\"uddeutsche Zeitung and Munich police.

After security found the latest additions to the museum's collection, they immediately lowered the display and the man was fired.

A museum spokesman confirmed the incident and dismissal of the employee to CNN.

"A technical employee from one of the four museums represented at Pinakothek der Moderne, who previously did not attract attention in this regard, installed the object in the Sammlung Moderne Kunst exhibition room outside of open hours," said Tine Nehler, quoted from CNN April 25.

"As a result of this incident, he is prohibited from entering the museum until further notice and his work will not continue," he continued.

Because of his job, the man had access outside of normal opening hours and no one noticed him installing the image. It is not known how long the painting, which measures 60 centimeters by 1.2 meters (23.6 inches by 47.2 inches), sticks to the wall, but Nehler said it was likely not to last long.

"Supervisors soon realized something like this," Nehler told S\"uddeutsche Zeitung, noting he didn't know what the painting was describing.

The incident also caught the attention of police, who said the man was being investigated on charges of property vandalism, a crime that could be subject to fines or imprisonment of up to two years if he is found guilty.

"We have of course filed criminal charges. This means that the prosecutor's office will now decide what happened," said Munich Police Chief Inspector Christian Drecher. "But the decisions of each case depend on the court," he said.

The painting was "mounted to an exhibition wall with two screws, which is why this gallery wall is damaged and Munich's criminal investigation department is now investigating property damage caused by a borehole," added Drecher.

"The total damage is estimated at around 100 euros (107 US dollars). The painting has been removed and confiscated".

Right after workers found the painting, the man sent an email to the museum to admit his actions, and wrote "as a freelance artist, he has now hung his own painting (on the wall)," said Dreviel.