Prank pineapple left at Scottish gallery included in modern art show

May 14: A pair of Scottish college students jokingly left a common pineapple on an empty table at a modern art museum, only to find days later it had been encased in glass and had become part of the exhibit.

The prank was the work of Lloyd Jack and Ruairi Gray, both 22. They attended the “Look Again” festival at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland. The one-month festival’s mission is to use modern art to force attendees to rethink the objects that surround them in Scottish daily life.

Apparently, a $1.30 grocery store pineapple fit the bill and its presence became an Internet sensation after Jack posted a photo of his “creation” on Twitter with the caption “I made art.”

“We weren’t sure how the glass case got there, and initially assumed it was bungling curators,” he said. “We couldn’t believe our eyes, and didn’t expect our lowly little supermarket pineapple to become a global star.”

Nonetheless, the fourth-year business student told The New York Times the glass-encased pineapple actually does have symbolism, even if it was put there as a joke.

“The pineapple symbolizes the U.K. leaving the E.U., standing alone, attempting to survive, cut off from the outside world,” he said.

As with any piece of art, the beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Some modern art fans debating the pineapple online found merit in its placement. Others disagreed with eye-rolls evincing the banality of modern art.

The incident brought back memories of a similar prank pulled at a modern art exhibit in San Francisco in 2013. Two teenagers unimpressed with the gallery put a pair of reading glasses on the floor underneath an official-looking sign. Minutes later, gallery patrons had surrounded the glasses, commenting on the meaning and taking pictures. Those pictures also elicited groans online. Upi.com