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Banana taped to wall sells for $6.2 million at art auction

November 21, 2024

A controversial piece of art has sold for millions of dollars at auction, prompting debate as to what constitutes art.

https://p.dw.com/p/4nECJ
A woman looks at a banana taped to a wall at the Sotheby's auction house before the piece of art goes to auction
The work, entitled 'Comedian,' first went on display in 2019Image: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP Photo/picture alliance

A work of art by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan has been sold for $6.2 million (€5.8 million) at Sotheby's auction house in New York.

But the provocative artwork wasn't an historic oil painting, a thought-provoking piece of photography or a unique sculpture; it was a fresh piece of fruit.

A banana, to be precise. Stuck to a wall with a piece of duct tape.

"This is not just an artwork," insisted the winning bidder, Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun.

"It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community."

What is art?

Entitled "Comedian," the masterpiece made its debut at the Art Basel show in Miami Beach in 2019, where it was far from a laughing matter, prompting debate about whether it should be considered art at all.

But this, according to Sun, is the entire point.

"I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history," he said.

Sun beat six other rival bidders for the sticky-tape-fruit combo, which was issued with a guide price of $1-1.5 million before bidding began – already a manyfold increase on its original price of $120,000 five years ago.

Not that the banana purchased by Sun was five years old; the artwork receives a fresh piece of fruit for each exhibition, and this was the third iteration.

The original banana was eaten by performance artist David Datuna, who said he was "hungry" while inspecting it at the Miami show.

Sun, the founder of crypto exchange Tron, said that he intended to eat his investment too.

"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," he said.

Included in his purchase, alongside a certificate of authenticity that confirms the work was indeed created by Cattelan, are instructions on how to replace the banana when it goes off.

As such, one can understand the appeel.

Peeling the secrets of a banana

mf/nm (AFP, dpa, AP)