Modern-art fans mistake pair of glasses for exhibit

Large crowd of visitors caught out by teenage prankster at San Francisco gallery

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(Image credit: Twitter)

Art fans were tricked into thinking a pair of glasses placed on the floor of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was a fascinating new exhibit.

The specs were the idea of 17-year-old TJ Khayatan, who decided to test the limits of modern art on a visit to the museum with friends.

"We stumbled upon a stuffed animal on a grey blanket and questioned if this was really impressive to some of the nearby people," he told Buzzfeed.

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The friends surreptitiously planted the glasses on the floor and then stepped back to watch.

Within seconds, the "exhibit" had begun to attract appreciative art enthusiasts, said Khayatan, who took a series of photos showing a crowd appearing to muse thoughtfully over the glasses.

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Some of the visitors also took pictures, with one man getting down on his hands and knees to find the right angle.

Khayatan's photos of the prank clearly amused tweeters - the images have been shared more than 55,000 times since he uploaded them on Tuesday.

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Despite his prank, Khayatan said he was "quite impressed" with many of the exhibits on show at the museum.

"I can agree that modern art can be a joke sometimes, but art is a way to express our own creativity," he said. "At the end of the day, I see it as a pleasure for open-minded people and imaginative minds."

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