On Friday,we reportedon the latest bizarre milestone in the "art" world, when abanana duct-taped to a wall sold for $120,000at that excess-liquidity conclave of ultra rich and other wannabe poseurs known Art Basel Miami Beach. Worse, a second banana duct-taped to a wall also sold for $120,000. Yet even worse than that, a third banana duct-taped to a wall is expected to sell for $150,000 and so on.
Then on Saturday, at around 1:45pm, the art world was shocked when a random man, allegedly a performance artist, ate said duct-taped banana that sold earlier this week for $120,000.
New York-based performance artist David Datuna ate the banana early on Saturday afternoon in front of a stunned convention full of "art" lovers most of whom had no idea whether they were witnessing even more "art", of just some clueless rando eating the world's most discussed "art" exhibit, the gallery told the Miami Herald.
Perrotin Gallery spokesman Lucien Terras told the Herald that Datuna did not "destroy" the artwork because "the banana is the idea", or as Magritte would say "Ceci n'est pas une banane."
The controversial piece, called "The Comedian," was created by Maurizio Cattelan, an Italian artist who had also entertained art lovers from around the globe in 2017 with his "America" 18-carat-gold toilet. The $6-million throne was stolen from England's Blenheim Palace over the summeraccording to CBS.
Emmanuel Perrotin, the gallery founder, told CBS News that Maurizio's work is not just about objects, but about how objects move through the world.
"Whether affixed to the wall of an art fair booth or displayed on the cover of the New York Post, his work forces us to question how value is placed on material goods," he said, although he could have also added "or eaten."
He added that "the spectacle is as much a part of the work as the banana."
Perrotin was about to head to the airport when he heard about the banana being eaten and rushed back, according to the Herald.An attendee tried to cheer him up by handing him a banana.A borrowed replacement banana was eventually re-adhered to the wall, because "art."
Whereas the "art" world was briefly outraged after the 120,000 rotting banana was calmly eaten, unaware that they themselves were the joke, normals argued this piece is a perfect representation of what the art world has become with its gaping wealth inequalities and where idiotic "art" such asa banana duct taped to a wall sells for $120,000.Others, however, chose not to go as deep and appreciate the simplicity of the art piece. Yet others blamed the Fed for flooding the world with so much money thata banana duct taped to a wall was actually bought by someone for $120,000.
