Couple ruins a painting valued at 425 thousand Euro, they believed it was a collaborative work

Two young people were accused of vandalizing an artwork by artist JonOne, exhibited in a gallery in Seoul, South Korea.

SEOUL, KOREA (April 08, 2021).- Sometimes misunderstandings also reach the art world and can cause great problems, that is what happened with a young couple arrested by the authorities after vandalizing a painting by the American artist JonOne exhibited in an art gallery in Seoul, South Korea; however, it was all a confusion, as they believed that it was a collaborative work. 

And it is that the young people found cans of paint, brushes and other materials in front of the work, valued at 425 thousand euros (about 10 million 200 thousand pesos), so they thought they could collaborate in the project of this graffiti artist. So far from ruining the painting, the couple sought to make their own mark. 

As seen in the video from the security cameras of the Seoul museum, the couple approaches the work (untitled), takes some brushes and a bucket of green paint, and they begin to draw some lines, the woman is even observed taking a photograph of her alleged contribution.

As if that were not enough, the young people do not look worried or nervous, since everything indicates that they were unaware that they were committing a crime. Museum workers found out what happened at closing time. 

“We immediately called the police and they took the paint can and the brush as evidence (…) They confessed that they thought it was allowed to paint on the work, and that it was a mistake. We are seeing with the artist what to do about it”, he told the middle ABC News Kang Wok, director of the Street Noise exhibition.

A ruined work?

But, at this point you will surely be wondering: Why were there cans of paint and brushes in front of the painting?

It turns out that this “untitled” work was painted by JonOne in 2016 during a live performance that took place at Lotte World Mall Seoul. Once the artist finished the graffiti, which measures about seven meters by 2.4 meters, it was shown to the public with the tools that were used for its realization in order to highlight its history. 

It is worth mentioning that according to ABC News, so far the artist does not plan to sue the couple. In addition to the fact that what happened has attracted the attention of the public, so the work will continue to be exhibited until June 13.

Source: Milenio