Museum’s Peanut Butter Floor Honors Artist

Rotterdam, Netherlands —(Map)

A museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands recently covered the floor in one of its large viewing rooms with 800 pounds (363 kilograms) of peanut butter. This unusual display honors the famous Dutch artist Wim T. Schippers. He passed away last month at age 83, but his strange and funny ideas continue to surprise people.

The artwork is called “Pindakaasvloer”, or “Peanut Butter Floor”. It is spread in a large hexagon (a six-sided shape).

To make the art, museum workers followed strict rules left by Mr. Schippers. They were told to spread 34 pounds (15.6 kilograms) of smooth (not chunky) peanut butter on each square meter of the design.

The artist wanted the peanut butter to be spread smoothly, but in a boring way. His notes said that no one should stand on it, lie down on it, or try to learn anything from it.

Sandra Kisters is in charge of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. She says Mr. Schippers’s work makes people ask questions like, “Is this art? Am I allowed to like this?” Ms. Kisters believes this feeling of confusion is part of what is special about the artwork.

Ms. Kisters compared Mr. Schippers to Monty Python—a famous comedy group known for silly humor. Mr. Schippers believed that life could be very serious and very funny at the same time.

In the 1960s, he belonged to a group of artists that hated boring art and art made just for money. To surprise and shock people, they created odd pieces of art. In one case, they covered the floor of an art gallery with salt. They covered the floor of another one with broken glass.

But Mr. Schippers was far more than just a visual artist. He also created funny and surprising shows on TV and radio. The strange humor of his shows sometimes upset people. But he also created some characters that became extremely popular in the Netherlands.

These days, Mr. Schippers is most famous for being a voice actor on “Sesamstraat” – the Dutch version of “Sesame Street”. Mr. Schippers played Kermit the Frog, Ernie, and Count von Count.

Mr. Schippers spent much of his life making “conceptual art” – art that focuses on sharing an idea rather than just making something look pretty or realistic.

In 1999, he created a piece called “Het Is Me Wat”. He used large powerful magnets to make a heavy stone float in the air. In 2011, he made a sculpture that looked like a giant pile of poop. It stands over 13 feet (4 meters) tall.

Peanut Butter Floor – an idea Mr. Schippers came up with in 1962 – has been shown several times over the years. In 1997, as a joke, some students put bread and “hagelslag” (chocolate sprinkles) on the artwork. This was similar to a common Dutch snack – bread, often smeared with peanut butter, and with hagelslag sprinkled on top. Mr. Schippers seemed to appreciate the joke.

For those who want a snack at the current showing, the museum’s restaurant is selling peanut butter sandwiches.