Duct-Taped Banana "Art" Sells For Over $6 Million!
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"Comedian," a conceptual artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall, fetched an astounding $6.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction on November 20, 2024. Bidding began at $800,000 and quickly surged to $4 million and then $5.2 million, plus $1 million in auction fees. The final price surpassed the $1.2 million pre-auction estimate for the artwork.
Created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, "Comedian" sparked widespread controversy when it debuted at Miami's Art Basel in 2019. Cattelan explained that the piece explored how society assigns value to everyday objects. He had initially thought of crafting a banana using resin or bronze. However, the artist ultimately chose a real banana to convey his message. The artwork gained even more fame after a visitor ate the banana, forcing officials to replace it with a backup.
Its immense popularity drew large crowds. Concerned the visitors might damage other artworks"Comedian" was eventually removed from public display. However, three editions of the artwork were sold at the time for prices ranging from $120,000 to $150,000 each. One of these was later donated to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. It remains unclear which edition was auctioned on November 20.
Regardless, five years later, Chinese-born entrepreneur Justin Sun paid over 40 times the highest original price for "Comedian". The artwork's value was not in the banana itself, which had been purchased earlier that day for just 35 cents. Instead, its worth lies in the certificate of authenticity. It grants Sun the right to duct tape a banana to a wall and call it "Comedian." He also received installation instructions, including how to replace the fruit whenever it rots.
Sun said. "[The artwork] represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community."
"Additionally, 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 remarked.
Sun made good on this promise by devouring the fruit in a press conference held in Hong Kong on November 29, 2024.
“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun told reporters. “It’s really quite good.”
Since the sale, a kind Samaritan has helped raise over $19,000 to support the New York fruit vendor whose banana was used in the auction.
Resources: NPR.org, Smithsonianmag.com, CNN.com
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203 Comments
skyza6 monthsbro is not good with money
savaale6 monthswith that money you should help poor people not waste It on some banana- skyza6 monthsthats right
s92710476 monthsbro is needs a money manager💀- superbarndt126 monthsThat is awesome! Does this mean if we duck tape a banana to the wall we could become Millionaires and maybe even Billionaires? That is so so AWESOME and AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
- skyza4 monthsdon’t think that’s cool. It’s just selfish
jeepbeach_girl5 monthsNo that's not how we want to act. This is a bad example of greedy people using that money to be noticed. Not for people that need it more
thepro_gamer6 monthsbro was that hungry that he paid 6.2 million for a banana that he could have got at Walmart for $6...
pebblescar6 monthsThis is so beautiful 💜
jerry123456 monthsduck tape a apple to the wall and become a billionaire 🍎
planeman43255 monthsthat's what I was thinking!
- hitmen6 monthsI can just buy a banana and put some duck tape on it and I will be a millionaire??????
- skyza6 monthswake up people, its a BANANA that costs 6 million dollars 😒😒😒
- savaale6 monthsAfter reading this, I am going to buy a cucumber and duct tape it to my wall. I am then going to sell it for $100 million. I am going to be very rich!!