Teens Prank Museumgoers Into Thinking Eyeglasses on the Floor Were Art

A group of teens pranked museumgoers by putting a pair of eyeglasses on the floor, and presenting them as art.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

There are few things that wouldn't meet the criteria of modern art, especially in a museum where it's often hard to determine what exactly is part of the exhibition. Is the fire extinguisher art or just a fire extinguisher? No one really knows and a viral prank by a couple of California high schoolers proves it.

During a recent trip to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, TJ Khayatan and his friends wanted to see what would happen if they put a pair of glasses on the floor.

“Upon first arrival we were quite impressed with the artwork and paintings presented in the huge facility,” he told Buzzfeed. “However, some of the ‘art’ wasn’t very surprising to some of us.”

So, they placed the black frames with the lenses facing the room and stood back to see what would happen.

It didn't take long before visitors assumed the glasses were part of an installation. Groups surrounded the glasses and even started taking pictures of them. 

The photos Khayatan captured of peoples' reactions has since gone viral with 43,000 likes on Twitter. He and his friends tried pulling similar pranks by placing other items like a hat on the floor, but nothing got the same reaction as the glasses. 

Some people have used this this prank as an example of  why they hate modern art, but most people just think it's hilarious.

Khayatan did not immediately respond to Complex’s request for comment​

Latest in Style