The Graffiti that wasn’t

John Andrew Perello was exhibiting his $400,000 abstract mural called, “American Graffiti,” in a South Korean museum. It looked like… well… graffiti. There were even buckets of paint and spray cans strewn about for effect.

Along came a Korean couple who saw the paint and thought it was an invitation to participate (street art) – so they added their own flourishes to the masterpiece. They were caught on camera and arrested, but the exhibitors didn’t want to press charges.

The artist said he would restore the painting for ten million won – in fact, he wanted to do it (who wouldn’t for ten million won)?

But don’t get too excited, ten million won is about $9000.

There was a huge public response in favor of the couple who “graffitied” the graffiti. And there are contents pros who could have restored the mural to pre-loss condition for a whole lot less… although we suspect the artist might have objected.