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Making A Case for Graffiti

Missoula, Denver, Omaha and 9 Others Get Gifts

Mat Benote considers himself a fine-art graffiti artist - that is, somebody who lives between the worlds of graffiti, urban art and fine art. (To be specific, for Life's Puzzle project, he makes clear that he did not and does not spray paint walls.)
His Life's Puzzle project (2009) involved making a 48-panel plexiglas mural which he then traveled the country "gifting." That is, he gave 4 panels apiece to 11 US museums (and 4 to Saatchi Gallery, London), through a guerrilla action in which he installed the panels with double-sided tape on museum property (the museum galleries, the library, or a hall, included some of the placements) - along with a label bearing his name and information about the work.
The longest exhibit of Benote's unexpected gift lasted 4 days; the shortest, only a few minutes. The artist said he received several letters about his actions, both in support and dissent. The 12 institutions included the Missoula Art Museum (Montana), and MCA Denver; along with the the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (Kansas City), the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Only the Joslyn chose to accession (that is, to keep) the piece. Omaha writer Sarah Baker disclosed that a museum spokeswoman, Amy Rummel, told her, "Benote is a respected working artist, they understand his approach and that is why the piece is being adopted into the collection. But she adds in any other case, that wouldn't happen."

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