Tehran's contemporary art museum has issued an apology and temporarily closed to handle a pest infestation, raising concerns after footage of insects scuttling across world-famous work spread widely on social media.
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Insects, which may attack and eat away at paintings, pose a serious threat to the American and European minimalist masterpieces now for the first time on display at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ousted Iran's Western-backed monarchy.
A video went viral earlier this week showing two paper-eating silverfish squirming under the glass of a 1978 industrial photograph by influential German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. The sighting of the wingless pearl gray bugs provoked shock and disgust on social media.
The museum apologized to the public on Wednesday, insisting that the "proper maintenance" of its prized works "is of the utmost concern to all of us." As soon as the infestation became apparent, it said, experts rushed to the museum and carefully cleaned the exhibited artworks.
Insects have not damaged the Becher photograph or any other pieces, the museum said, adding that it would close for two days so pest control technicians could tackle the problem.
