Whoops! Cleaner scrubs away part of artwork

BERLIN — Officials in Dortmund, Germany say a modern-art installation valued at €800,000 ($1.1 million) was seriously damaged after an overzealous cleaning woman scrubbed away a patina intended to look like a dried rain puddle.

City spokeswoman Dagmar Papajewski said Friday that Martin Kippenberger's "When it Starts Dripping from the Ceiling" remains in place at the city's Ostwall museum, despite the damage from earlier this month.

Papajewski says cleaning personnel had instructions to stay at least 8 inches away from the artwork and it was not clear why the patina had fallen victim to the woman's scrubbing brush.

The Kippenberger work was on loan to the museum from a private collection.

Kippenberger was a German artist who died in 1997.

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