The labels on the cans were hand painted with acrylic, so there was more effort put in to this installation than if they just grabbed some beers at the local convenience store and dumped them out.
There's always someone arguing about the purity of art. Art doesn't have a strict set of rules. Anything can be art. Saying otherwise limits it's ability.
Saying anything is art doesn't make it art. If I throw a couple beer cans on the ground, that's not art just because I say it is, it's trash. In this particular case the artist hand painted the labels, which I wasn't aware of when I commented. So, this is art, despite the quirky presentation.
If the piece designed to make you think about it then it's art. That's the only requirement. It can take as little or as much effort as the artist wants. There is not effort, cost, or material requirement for art. Yeah, just throwing cans on the ground isn't art, but if you place cans in a way to make someone consider the thoughtlessness or waste of society, that's art.
So, if I randomly find an empty beer can two meters from a trash can, and think about the lazy person who probably threw it there, is it art? If he did it for the sake of art and I had a though about it, is it art if I am not aware of it?
Art is just dumb, give me back my paintings and sculptures.