"Art sales and auctions have been setting records, which could be another sign of the wealth gap, according to a Citi report

This is bananas.

An Italian artist duct-taped a banana to a gallery wall in Miami as part of the Art Basel festival — and it sold for $120,000. Actually, he’s sold two editions already.

There’s nothing especially fancy about the exorbitant fruit displayed at the Galerie Perrotin, which is titled “Comedian.” Maurizio Cattelan, an art world prankster perhaps best known for creating a $6 million, 18-carat-gold toilet that he named “America,” grabbed the banana from a local Miami supermarket, Artnet reports.

And it doesn’t symbolize anything in particular. “The banana is supposed to be a banana,” Cattelan said, although he told Artnet that the shape of the fruit, the angle it was taped to the wall and its placement in the booth were all “carefully considered.” He came up with the idea a year ago, when he was thinking of creating a sculpture shaped like a banana, according to a statement from Galerie Perrotin.

“Every time he traveled, he brought a banana with him and hung it in his hotel room to find inspiration,” the statement continued. “He made several models: first in resin, then in bronze and in painted bronze (before) finally coming back to the initial idea of a real banana.”
It’s unclear how often the banana will be replaced, as it will probably turn black and begin to spoil in about a week. The gallery expects to throw out the one currently on view at the end of the week, unless the collector wants to keep it.

Art Basel guests have found it so a-peeling that Cattelan has jacked the price up to $150,000, which is being shopped to museums. (Two have reportedly already expressed interest.) Not too shabby considering you can buy four bananas for $1 from most NYC street vendors, and duct tape runs $5 to $10 on Amazon."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/someone-paying-120000-for-a-banana-duct-taped-to-a-wall-at-art-basel-is-the-perfect-picture-of-wealth-inequality-2019-12-05

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.tmz.com/2019/12/07/120k-duct-taped-banana-eaten-performance-artist-art-basel-miami/
Apparently though it's not the actual banana they bought (and now replaced with another banana) the buyers just bought the concept.

4 years ago*

Comment has been collapsed.

I'd do and accept 50k for an apple with duct tape, or isn't that apeel...ing?

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

wow mango sell it before someone else does peach poach this idea. I know I would lychee leech this myself and sell the masterpiece for a melon dollars

Peach Peace

ps. sorry for the stupid plums puns

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

People with too much money spend it on stupid stuff. Look up ENRON those guys were buying crazy crazy stuff.....It's sad

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

On the other hand, it's good that they do spend their money, this way it creates jobs (even if those are bullshit artist jobs). If they hoard it, it's lost for everyone.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

More money than sense.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

"satire"

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Sorry but this can't be true.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

A golden toilet called America. Yep, sounds about right. And I live in America.

Reminds me of the Gwar album This Toilet Earth.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

If it would have been a potato I wold have pait tenfold dude

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Are you telling me that if i got 5$ ductape i can sell my stupid bananas waiting to be eaten for at least 100k each? Sorry guys, gotta go home depot.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I've always been a Peaches and Superglue kinda guy. This does not really speak to me.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Hmm... I've always been partial to blueberries coated in wood glue. What speaks to you about the peach and super glue combo?

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Interesting

(puts on Art Hat)
I think the minimal application needed of the superglue - makes the Peach stand out, naked and strong against the canvas of today.

La di da.. ✌

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

This makes me so sad IF it's a real thing. When you think that there are people out there that can barely afford to buy a loaf of bread. Maybe that $120,000 should have been given to a charity to provide Christmas dinners to people who can't afford it. Sure, it's not the rich person's fault that there are poor people, but spending all that money on something that rots away in a week is nothing but selfish. Utterly sickening.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

+1

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Well to be fair, they do not reveal the identity of the person who bought it.
There's no reason to assume that this person, if it's a person and not some art museum/fund/corporatewhatever, is not also donating money to charities in the hundreds of thousands.

It does happen.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Well, with that recent news of the Chinese guy who spent $1.4M on his MMO character and then $13K to get it back after a 'friend' sold it, or the dentist who spent $1M on old NES games, $120K is pocket change. Some people have way too much money.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Back in the 1960's some 'artist' canned his own shit and sold it. Before that, some artist invited people to an exhibit of an empty showroom. Somewhat more innovatively, a few years ago some artist just put up an empty pedestal

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

"Mehr Schein als Sein"

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

It can be mind-boggling what some consider to be "art" and the value they place on it.

I remember being absolutely blown away by these massive, intricately carved Assyrian lamassu in the Metropolitan Museum of Art... over 10 feet tall and 16,000 pounds a piece... and then later finding this "Blue Panel II" in the modern art section and thinking, "What the **** is this doing in the same museum?!" Sure, it's big and trapezoidal, but... it's just a single shade of solid paint. Once you have the canvas, you could make your own in minutes with a paint roller. I guess that's why "art" is open to interpretation. :P

View attached image.
View attached image.
View attached image.
4 years ago*
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

yes, yes indeed.
modern art is usually the stuff that gets thrown away by the cleaning lady if you aren't careful.

View attached image.
4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

money laundering anyone?

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I tought so but because of the particulars (banana rotting, easily fakeable) i doubt its resellable, or for much (if i understand correctly theres a proof of purchase and originality, so perhaps the paper will retain its worth).

In that case it would make more sense as tax evasion alone.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

They better make sure it's not forged :)

View attached image.
4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

People pay money for bad rats.
wich is worth 0...
...therefore paying +infinte% way too much.

A pricey banana would be like a dollar... so its only 150k% above what it should

Not surprised.
Just angry.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

What I can say.

Cucumbers are fine!

This means that a lot of cucumbers are taped on the doors of the house on Christmas day.

Stealth missionε=ε=┌( ;´゚ェ゚)┘🥒🚪 🎅....Is it okay to tape the present to the chimney on the roof now?
(´・Θ・`)I saw the hallucinations of such global terrorist activities.
Note: Do not overdose games during your head vacation.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I say you have a million dollar idea right there.

Find a crack in a wall, stick a cucumber in it. Take a picture. Call it "Aftershock" and make a fortune.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Speaking of which, when you go calm and go to see the work
I remembered this one."Banana made of uncolored wood".

In 2011, it was raised at an event to search for such “art works” that were not “one piece of goods” but “not mass-produced”.
This was better for me personally.
At that time, it was sold at around 10,000-30,000.yen

But why are there no cucumbers?🍌┐(´Θ`)┌🥒

View attached image.
4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Twice as funny when you're German, because 'After' means rectum XD

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

jajajajaj

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I honestly don't know what's the saddest. Someone paying thousands of bucks for that... or the morons taking pictures of it to look cool(?) on their Instagram...

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

most art is a just a way to launder money. what it looks like is irrelevant

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I don't mind when artists do weird stuff to be shown in a gallery since that is what art is supposed to be about, freedom of expression. But when they sell that stuff for absurd amounts of money I start to wonder if the buyers are legit idiots, have too much cash and no clue of what to do with it, or if the whole "business" is actually some sort of elaborate cover to lawnder money or a next level scam that's so convoluted that the law has yet to catch up with it.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I think this actually has a lot more to say about preservation of art pieces: Do we throw away and let rot a piece of art (paintings do that too, except at a much lower rate), we preserve it with restoration or we just replace it with a new banana (or a new Mona Lisa)?

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Deleted

This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Lol, by a performance artist, under the name of art.

Apparently though it's not the actual banana they bought (and now replaced with another banana) the buyers just bought the concept.

4 years ago*
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

If this was a cucumber ...🥒 🍌
Everyone can eat cucumbers! ! !
So cucumber lovers would have gathered.
┐(´Θ`)┌ooO(At this time no one thinks that the delay in replenishment will trigger the space war ...)

4 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Sign in through Steam to add a comment.