Banana Artwork That Sold For $160,000 Eaten By ‘Hungry’ Performance Artist

By
Rae Woo
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Does anyone even know the true meaning of art, or what constitutes art?

Really, I don’t think anyone would have imagined that a simple banana taped on the wall using duct tape would be considered art and hailed as something of heavy monetary and contemplative value, but that’s how art works, I guess. Perhaps it’s finding beauty and deeper meaning in things that seem simple, yet are strategically displayed to evoke these thoughts and reactions.

Then again, I don’t know either. The world is complicated and so are the minds of humans.

So, what would someone think about a man who just happened to see the banana hanging from the wall and decided to eat it?

You’d probably just think he’s hungry or blur sotong or stupid or all three, but guess what?

It’s apparently a form of art as well, for he’s a performance artist.

Image: Giphy

Sigh, the mysteries of this world…

Famed Banana On Wall Art

In case you missed the first news about the crazy banana art and the weirdly profound meaning behind it that left our office shook when we heard about it, the piece is titled Comedian and is done by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who was also well known for other works of art like a golden toilet bowl.

Image: EPA

Would you look at that. A heavily ripe banana on the wall held in place by shiny silver duct tape… it just brings me to tears.

The artwork was displayed at the Perrotin international gallery at Art Basel in Miami and had actually been sold for a whopping sum of $160,000 just last week. Considering that you could buy the same banana for about $1.50 at the supermarket and a roll of duct tape for close to the same price and do the same thing on your wall by yourself, this is a big SCAM.

It’s supposed to be “a symbol of global trade, a witty double entendre, and a classic device for humour.” It’s funny, alright. 

And It’s Been Devoured

I guess someone was also quite confused and done about the fact that a random banana could be taped on a wall and called art with a hefty price tag attached to it, so one man decided to take his own comedic action to add on to the humour.

David Datuna, an alleged performance artist, went into the gallery at around 1:45pm on the afternoon of 7 Dec and proceeded to remove the banana off the wall, peel it and eat it. Many art lovers just stood there and watched him while the incident happened. LOL.

He even posed for photos!

Image: Eva Uzcategui/Reuters

Look at his satisfied, smug face after eating a banana that’s been jacked up to the price of $160,000.

Datuna apparently quipped that he was hungry, and that he was a performance artist when a gallery partner asked what he was doing.

Gallery founder Emmanuel Perrotin was obviously upset to hear about the hoohah and rushed down to the gallery immediately although he was en route to the airport. Seeing as he was visibly upset, a visitor handed him his own banana, with which he replaced the artwork with just after 2pm.

Good as new, right?

The spectacle led to many visitors clamouring to see the famed banana, and it apparently “has been more photographed than the Mona Lisa”, joked Lucien Terras, a director at the Gallerie Perrotin.

It’s All Good, Though

Thankfully, and somehow bizarrely, Datuna did not get prosecuted or arrested for his bold act.

“He did not destroy the art work. The banana is the idea,” Terras commented. This just gets more and more confusing.

“This has brought a lot of tension and attention to the booth and we’re not into spectacles,” he added. “But the response has been great. It brings a smile to a lot of people’s faces.”

Earlier, when the artwork was first unveiled, Perrotin was quoted as saying that “Maurizio’s work is not just about objects, but about how objects move through the world.”

So basically, he means that the banana is but a simple banana in our world, and it is meant to rot eventually, if not eaten, as its natural purpose in the world is. Okay…

But what about the poor buyer of the artwork?

Well, apparently, the $160,000 was simply a fee for the Certificate of Authenticity for this particular artwork, since the banana is unable to withstand the test of time and will eventually completely rot, and you don’t want that in your house.

Owners can replace the banana as needed, but it’s unclear how they have to do it, as no instructions were given. So… I guess that will make for an interesting talking point whenever guests come to visit.

Anyway, if you want bananas that bad, I think there’s a sale going on at Don Don Donki.

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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Rae Woo
Email: [email protected]