A banana complete with tape was auctioned in New York for $6.2 million. The equivalent of almost 5.9 million euros is not an expression of the astronomical prices in the cosmopolitan city, but rather proof of the success of a provocative idea by the conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan.
Cattelan’s work called “Comedian” was auctioned for the enormous amount – a multiple of the amount expected prior to the auction – at auction house Sotheby’s, as announced on platform X (formerly Twitter).
Installation first presented in 2019
Known for his often whimsical sculptures, Cattelan originally presented the banana installation at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019 and cost $120,000.
American performance artist David Datuna then tore the banana from the wall and ate it. A few years later, a similar incident occurred at a museum in South Korea, where an art student removed the fruit from the wall, peeled it, ate it, and then stuck the peel back on the wall.
That didn’t bother Cattelan, they said. According to his instructions, the ripe banana on the wall should be replaced every two to three days. The buyer, a Chinese crypto entrepreneur named Justin Sun, bought Cattelan’s idea with a certificate instead of the banana and tape themselves.
Artwork was once the star of Art Basel
When Cattelan first introduced ‘Comedian’ it caused quite a stir. The banana on the wall, 160 centimeters above the floor, was the star of Art Basel. Some were incredulous, others fascinated, others indignant: that was not art. Or is it? Critics say that every great work of art also provokes anger. This lies in the power of an object that pushes the boundaries of what we consider normal.
Many viewers also emphasized how absurd and humorous “Comedian” is. The artist himself saw it a little differently in an interview a few years ago: “For me, Comedian was not a joke; it was a sincere commentary and reflection on what we find important. Art fairs are about speed and business rules, so I looked at it this way: if I had to be at a fair, I could sell a banana the way others sell their paintings. I could play within the system, but with my rules,” Cattelan said.
A video produced by Sotheby’s says: “This is a work that draws its power from the question of how we value art. And there is no better forum to assess the value of art and an individual object than the platform of an auction.”
Source: Krone
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