Artist JonOne in front of one of his street-art works.
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MEIGNEUX ROMUALD / SIPA
Two visitors to a museum in Seoul (South Korea) confused a work of art with a free drawing space.
They thus unknowingly vandalized a creation by New Yorker JonOne, reports ABC News.
The value of this giant graffiti measuring 7 meters by 2 meters, produced in 2016, is estimated at 440,000 dollars (approximately 370,000 euros).
The street artist, however, let it be known via his agent that he would not sue the couple.
Hilarious!
A couple vandalized a $ 440,000 painting in South Korea after mistaking it for an interactive exhibit.
I restored the painting in Photoshop and to be honest, I prefer the vandalized piece.
It feels much more balanced.
👉 https://t.co/jk5vq0N62n
before & after pic.twitter.com/X753J3vFIY
- Trevor Jones 🎨 (@trevorjonesart) April 6, 2021
The couple heard by the police
As part of the “Street Noise” exhibition organized by the museum, JonOne's “Untitled” work was the only one not to be framed.
Tins of paint and brushes used by the artist were placed on the ground in front of the painting to complete the installation.
The two young people in their twenties then grabbed brushes to add a few green lines to the canvas.
A museum employee noticed this "addition" on March 28.
The couple were identified through CCTV footage and were interviewed by police.
Since then, additional precautions have been taken to protect the work.
The web is now more supervised and instructions for visitors have been added.
This type of incident will multiply in the future because of "characteristics of contemporary art", according to South Korean pop culture expert Ha Jae-geun.
“The public is likely to mistakenly mistake a piece of art like JonOne's for something they can draw on,” he explained.
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