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Arts & Entertainment

Artist Illegally Hangs Work in Guggenheim


By

Jen Carlson

Published Aug 3, 2009

Modified Aug 3, 2009


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By

Jen Carlson

Published Aug 3, 2009

Modified Aug 3, 2009


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Remember when, in 2005, Banksy snuck in to museums and illegally hung his own work (video!)? Well, another artist has just done the same, catching up four years later—but at least he hit a different museum: the Guggenheim (Banksy got the Met, MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and American Museum of Natural History).

Over the weekend Mat Benote walked in during normal business hours and hung one of his own pieces on the famous walls, something the artist describes as "Fine Art Graffiti." He stated: “I want to illustrate that graffiti can be a positive influence in a community when applied properly, and as an art form, has as much right to be displayed in a museum as any other form of art.”

We've contacted the Guggenheim to find out what happened to the work, and will update once we hear back. In the meantime, what say thee: vandalism or art?

Tagged

art

artist

guggenheim

illegal

Mat Benote


Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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