History Main / MistakenForExhibit

* In ''Film/WonderWoman1984'', Steve Trevor (who died in 1918 and has somehow come back from the dead in 1984) looks at a trash can as if it's a work of art for a moment since Diana told him the place they walk at is "all art"... then she has to tell him what it really is.

* Inverted in one episode of ''Series/MissionImpossible'' where the villain of the week smuggles a sample of a classified alloy out of the US by using it to make an abstract sculpture. The team is tasked with retrieving the alloy from the sculpture at the art museum it is currently being stashed in before its intended recipient can collect it.

* ''Series/GetSmart''. Max and 99 visit an art gallery, where Max goes on about how a black dot on a white wall represents the loneliness of man in a vast universe. Then the black dot flies away.

* In ''Film/MurderParty'', Chris is fleeing the final killer, and runs into a room set for a performance art piece, with actors preparing for their performance. The killer bursts in and manages to murder all of the actors messily before Chris fights him off. In a following scene, patrons look in on the bloodstained room filled with mutilated bodies, and begin speculating on the meaning of the piece.

* In ''Film/WonderWoman1984'', Steve Trevor (who died in 1918 and has somehow come back from the dead in 1984) looks at a trash can as if it's a work of art for a moment, since Diana told him the place they walk at is "all art"... then she has to tell him what it really is.

* On ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Malcolm's family takes a trip to the Burning Man festival. Hal sunbathing and cheerfully grilling outside his camper are taken by the hippies in attendance as a viciously witty performance piece commenting on emptiness of the American burgeoisie or some such pretentious nonsense, while Hal remains oblivious as to why so many people keep staring at him while he's vacationing.

** Another sketch had the hipsters arguing about whether a piece of art was avant garde or surrealist. A cleaning woman then sweeps up the scrunched up piece of paper.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Mother's Day", the cast visits a wax museums of famous historical robots:

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': "Headhunters" began with Mabel, Dipper, and Soos mistaking Grunkle Stan for one of the wax figures in the sealed off room of the Mystery Shack.

* In ''Film/WonderWoman1984'', Steve Trevor (who has come back from the dead in 1984) looks at a trash can as if it's a work of art for a moment, since Diana told him the place they walk at is "all art"... then she has to tell him what it really is.

* You can put a "This is an art project" sign on almost anything, and people will assume it's true.
** In Boston, you can occasionally find normal objects with "Not Art" painted on them.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/MurderParty'', Chris is fleeing the final killer, and runs into a room set for a performance art piece, with actors preparing for their performance. The killer bursts in and manages to murder all of the actors messily before Chris fights him off. In a following scene, patrons look in on the bloodstained room filled with mutilated bodies, and begin speculating on the meaning of the piece.
* In ''Film/ShortCircuit2'', Johnny Five wanders the streets of New York City and strolls into a modern art exhibition in a park. A couple mistakes him for one of the statues and remarks that he's [[UglyCute repulsive]], leading to Johnny [[PinocchioSyndrome trying some very questionable measures to help him fit in among humans]].
[[/folder]]

* Several times in the stories by Creator/EphraimKishon.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii The Fires of Pompeii]]", not only is the TARDIS mistaken for a modern art installation, but an enterprising street trader has sold it to a wealthy marble merchant, kicking off the MonsterOfTheWeek plot.

* Inverted in a ''Series/{{Portlandia}}'' sketch, where characters stumble into everyday situations (like getting mugged), only to be told that they're part of an art project.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

Compare AccidentalArt and AllPartOfTheShow. A person might invoke this trope deliberately to hide; see NobodyHereButUsStatues.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath "City of Death"]]: the Doctor and Romana leave the TARDIS at the Galerie Denise Rene. When they return, there are two people standing in front of it...

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''A Museum Piece'' by Creator/RogerZelazny a failed artist decides to leave the world that doesn't understand him and moves to a museum where he pretends to be a ''Beaten Gladiator, post-Hellenic'', "a monument to himself". Then he discovers he's not alone. [[spoiler:First he meets ''Hecuba Lamenting'' -- a girl, who ran away from parents who drove away her artist boyfriend. Then ''Roman Senators'' turn out to be retired art critics who wish to kill them to keep the {{masquerade}}. Then a mobile ''Xena ex Machina'' turns out to be a friendly shipwrecked alien ("somewhat narcissistic" and enjoying being admired).]] In short: critics smell "of dust and yellow newsprint and bile and time" and modern art is weird.

* John Collier's "Evening Primrose":
-->"Tell him how you went out by daylight, dear Mrs. Vanderpant, and nearly got bought for Whistler's ''Mother''."\\
"That was in pre-war days. I was more robust then. But at the cash desk they suddenly remembered there was no frame. And when they came back to look at me--"\\
"--She was gone."

* The ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Legion": Rimmer, pretending he knows about art to impress Legion, compliments one piece:
-->'''Rimmer:''' Now this three-dimensional sculpture in particular is quite exquisite. Its simplicity, its bold, stark lines ... pray, what do you call it?\\
'''Legion:''' The light switch.\\
'''Rimmer:''' The light switch?\\
'''Legion:''' Yes.\\
'''Rimmer:''' I couldn't buy it off you then?\\
'''Legion:''' Not really. I need it to turn the lights on and off.

** In the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]", the Doctor and Romana leave the TARDIS at the Galerie Denise Rene. When they return, there are two people standing in front of it...

** Averted in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E11TheLodger The Lodger]]". The Doctor tries to convince the landlord that a scanning device he's built out of household objects is "a modern art piece on the awfulness of modern life", but is unconvincing.

* ''Series/DesigningWomen'' has Julia Sugarbaker leave her purse, which has a curvy black-and-white pattern, on its side on a table in a museum of modern art, whereupon the art crowd descends to ooh and ahh over it. The curator then insists the purse IS Art and therefore museum property, to the frustration of Julia, who just wants it back.
* Parodied by ''[[Series/TheChasersWarOnEverything The Chaser]]'', who attempted to demonstrate that it was possible to dump all kinds of junk in an art gallery without people noticing: tree clippings ("Lord of the Plants"), an old computer, a broken vacuum cleaner (unsuccessfully), an old mattress (unsuccessfully, though one woman spent some time admiring it) and two garbage bags ("Fun Dip").
* In one episode of ''Series/{{Monk}}'', the main character goes to an art gallery and mistakenly believes a display stand is an art piece. He isn't impressed by the actual art pieces, which aren't as smooth and uniform as the stand.
* On ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Malcolm's family takes a trip to the Burning Man festival. Hal sunbathing and cheerfully grilling outside his camper are taken by the hippies in attendance as a viciously witty performance piece commenting on emptiness of the American burgeoisie or some such pretentious nonsense, while Hal remains oblivious as to why so many people keep staring at him while he's vacationing.

* ''Series/GetSmart''. Max and 99 visit an art gallery, where Max goes on about how a black dot on a white wall represents the loneliness of man in a vast universe. Then the black dot flies away.
* On ''[[Series/TwoTwoSeven 227]]'', Mary is helping her friend clean up her art gallery in preparation for a show. When she forgets the bottle of Windex on a display stand, sure enough, the snooty art critic who's been deriding the real artists paintings can't stop fawning and gushing over it -- "Now ''this'' is art!"

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Prime Factors", Harry Kim sees a beautiful alien woman playing what he assumes is a HarpOfFemininity. It's actually an atmospheric sensor that works via sound. That doesn't bother Harry much as he immediately deduces how it works and [[GeekyTurnOn they start bonding over that instead]].
* The ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' episode "Bully" starts with an art exhibit, including one "painting" that turns out to be blood from the murder victim dripping down from the ceiling onto a canvas.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Mother's Day," the cast visits a wax museums of famous historical robots:

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': The beginning of the episode "Headhunters" began with Mabel, Dipper, and Soos mistaking Grunkle Stan for one of the wax figures in the sealed off room of the Mystery Shack.

* An inversion where an exhibit is mistaken for garbage: [[http://web.archive.org/web/20150922074253/http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/02/18/stupid-employee-trick-of-the-day-workers-trash-50k-artwork Workers Mistakenly Trash $50,000 Artwork]].

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'''She:''' Yes, I see what you mean. Divorced from its function and seen purely as a piece of art, its structure of line and colour is curiously counterpointed by the redundant vestiges of its function.\\

* The ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' episode "Bully" starts with an art exhibit, including one "painting" that turns out to be blood from the murder victim.