How a viral, duct-taped banana came to be worth $1 million

[dalton99a]

https://apnews.com/article/banana-art-sale-sothebys-maurizio-cattelan-66e066c9bd1b59e4a167fcb02bfb403f

How a viral, duct-taped banana came to be worth $1 million
By JULIE WALKER and JOHN MINCHILLO
Updated 8:34 AM CST, November 17, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Walk into any supermarket and you can generally buy a banana for less than $1. But a banana duct-taped to a wall? That might sell for more than $1 million at an upcoming auction at Sotheby’s in New York.

The yellow banana fixed to the white wall with silver duct tape is a work entitled “Comedian,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It first debuted in 2019 as an edition of three fruits at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, where it became a much-discussed sensation.

Bidders won’t be buying the same fruit that was on display in Miami. Those bananas are long gone. Sotheby’s says the fruit always was meant to be replaced regularly, along with the tape.

“What you buy when you buy Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ is not the banana itself, but a certificate of authenticity that grants the owner the permission and authority to reproduce this banana and duct tape on their wall as an original artwork by Maurizio Cattelan,” Galperin said.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Correct me please if I'm wrong, but does this fall into the category

of art known as "Da-Da"?

[Archae]

2. I'm not surprised some asshole said this "art" is worth so much.

Remember "Piss Christ?"
A guy fills a plastic box with pee, dunks a plastic crucifix in the pee and takes a bad picture.
Calls it "art."

A guy stands behind a jet engine, throws paint into the backwash and calls it "art."

Another guy wraps big things, as big as entire islands in pink plastic and calls it "art."

This is art.

Link to tweet

What I listed above, and that banana duct-taped to a wall is bullshit.

[keithbvadu2]

3. Art has different values to me. I would happily sell that taped banana but certainly would not buy it.

I'll even sell you the materials for a do-it-yourself kit.

[MichMan]

4. Sold for $5.2 million

Plus a $1 million auction fee

NEW YORK -- A piece of conceptual art consisting of a simple banana, duct-taped to a wall, sold for $6.2 million at an auction in New York on Wednesday, with the winning bid coming from a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur.

“Comedian,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was a phenomenon when it debuted in 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach, as festivalgoers tried to make out whether the single yellow piece of fruit affixed to a white wall with silver duct tape was a joke or cheeky commentary on questionable standards among art collectors. At one point, another artist took the banana off the wall and ate it.

Five years later, Justin Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON, has now paid more than 40 times that higher price point at the Sotheby’s auction. Or, more accurately, Sun purchased a certificate of authenticity that gives him the authority to duct-tape a banana to a wall and call it “Comedian.”

“Additionally, in the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture,” Sun said

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/magrittes-empire-light-sells-record-121m-auction-new-116052680?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2u6plPquTbNKH5NOtXvcEg83JMSToV2MNJ-pQGugMvA4qPjxrvb3K8zDs_aem_Fo7bQQCqxG-p-6ffgFszaw

[Meowmee]

5. The buyer

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/maurizio-cattelan-duct-taped-banana-sells-6-million-1234724458/

[RubyRose]

6. Can't wait to supplement my retirement by taping

a carrot to a wall.