Smith was trying to convince them to let him make three paintings that would eventually get rolled out to most, if not all, Taco Bell locations in the U.S. At first, not everyone in the room was onboard with the concept because it was so expensive: It would require making prints of his Basquiat-like paintings, stretching them on canvas and then hanging them in each store to make them feel like real art as opposed to ubiquitous branded messaging.
But, against these odds, Smith got the green light of approval, and the pieces were distributed in 2003. … Life went on, and the trio of paintings faded into memory.
