#4 The $150,000 Banana
Let's dissect it to understand why it captured our attention, curiosity, and memes!
In 2019, upon the inauguration of the Art Basel Miami, a social media frenzy followed - a banana was all over the internet.
Everyone was talking about how a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $150,000. This became a fast-topic for me - I would ask artists, art-enthusiasts and even people not related to art, for their opinion on this topic.
Two types of responses were prevalent - mockery about how anything is considered art and frustration-cum-anger about how an ‘incompetent’ art was sold for an a-peeling amount.
This is one of those rare occasions where art got mass-attention and it evoked polar-opposite reactions. This is why I am talking about it in this issue.
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Before we start with the autopsy. Let’s lay the groundwork -
Artwork: Banana duct-taped to a wall sculpture, titled “Comedian” (2019)
Artist: Maurizio Cattelan, one of the most popular artists in the contemporary art scene. This Italian artist is known primarily for his hyperrealistic sculptures.
As a result of his satirical approach to art, he is often called the ‘Prankster’ of the art world. So let’s dig in!
Fun Fact: The banana was eaten by an artist called David Datuna.
In this act of performance art, the interloper proclaimed that he ate the banana as part of a performance titled “Hungry Artist”.
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Both “Comedian” and “Hungry Artist” challenge our perspective on what art is supposed to be and do. On top of that, media outrage and instant memeification make things even more confusing.
Food for Thought: What should be the criteria to evaluate a piece of art?
We can keep talking about this, but until then, maybe just find an artist whose work you like and buy their art?
This issue is special. It was different from the other three issues that I have written. Let me know what you think in the comment section or drop me an email!
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The next, issue #5 of the visual newsletter will be out on 15 Feb 2021. You can follow me on Instagram | LinkedIn for updates.
Cheers,
Monica
I’m not going to lie, I found this absurd myself when I first came to know of it! The more I let it sink in, the more I realized that as a person who believes “art is up for people’s interpretation”, I believe art is what you choose to believe. Isn’t that how photographs work too?! A photographer captures a frame of mundane objects but in his eyes, a deeper meaning is hidden in each frame. So, I don’t think we can create a definite matrix to evaluate art, it will always be different for each person. At the end, we all might just have to agree to disagree!