5 Of The Weirdest Things In The Netherlands' Most Famous Modern Art Museum

The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam has regaled art lovers for over a century. It recently reopened after an extensive, nearly decade-long renovation. The critics at The New York Times may not be huge fans of the revamp, which cost $170 million bucks and includes a massive facade out front that looks like Godzilla’s bathtub, but that hasn’t discouraged thousands of visitors from all over the world from stopping by to enjoy works by famous artists like Andy Warhol and Edward Kienholz. Here’s five of the weirdest things currently on display in the museum.

1. “The Guinea Pig Room”

Or at least that’s what many visitors call it. One gallery in the Stedelijk is filled with 17 large photographs of some downright adorable guinea pigs. They’re apart of British artist Josephine Pryde’s 2012 series Scale and may have been added to the museum by accident. These little guys might be happier over at Cute Overload than hanging around with the works of Kazimir Malevich.

2. Living Room Scene

These two pieces by Dutch artist Mark Manders are meant to recall classical Greek statues and “evoke the sorrow and conflict at odds with the living room they inhabit.” During a recent visit, they evoked horror and revulsion in a 4 year-old French kid who was visiting the Stedelijk with his family. “Can we please go to McDonalds now?” he asked his father shortly thereafter.

3. Ushering in Banality

American artist Jeff Koons designed this tribute to “ultra-kitsch” and the piece is from his 1988 series Banality. The oversized sculpture recalls those goofy Hummel figurines that your grandma probably totally adores. It’s meant to mock snooty critics and out-of-touch members of the art scene that love to over-intellectualize everything. The fact that Ushering in Banality can be found sitting on a pedestal in one of Europe’s most famous modern art museums is either ironic or some sort of totally brilliant reflection of the limited accessibility of art in the latter half of the 20th century. Either way, LOOK AT THE PIGGY! ISN’T HE CUTE?

4. “The Talking Escalator”

An escalator that carries visitors down to the bottom floor of the Stedelijk looks like something straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey or at least the Apple Store over at your local mall. Oh, and it talks. Well, sorta. It plays a recording of people speaking gibberish.

5. The Beanery

American artist Edward Kienholz created this pretty dang awesome mixed media installation back in 1965. It’s a walk-through tribute to Barney’s Beanery, which was his favorite dive bar in West Hollywood. Both The Beanery's interior and exterior are a bizarre recreation of the original in Los Angeles. There’s a newsstand out front filled with copies of The Los Angeles Times and Kienholz included as many authentic objects as he could get his hands on back at the original location. The inside is filled with wooden mannequins that all have clocks for heads. Needless to say, none of them will give you the time of day (if only because the clocks are all broken). According to the artist, “the entire work symbolizes the switch from real time...to the surrealist time inside the bar, where people waste time, kill time, forget time and ignore time.” Kinda sounds like BuzzFeed, doesn’t it?

6. Special Bonus Art! The Hot Dog!

This fascinating piece serves as a testament to the hubris of American international diplomacy in modern times. Its missing arms suggest impotency and powerless. Is the artist presenting a commentary on the Obama administration's inability to win the War in Afghanistan? Or perhaps it’s a critique of the meat industry. Or, better yet it could be a depict…..wait, wait, hold it! This isn’t a piece from the Stedelijk, it’s a statue that can found at a hot dog stand on the Museumplein, the large plaza in front of the museum. Our mistake! Sorry for the confusion!