How a Duct-Taped Banana Sold for $6.2M Redefines Art as We Know It
Can we put a price on art?
Unlock our best offer ever – Now 20% Off!
This exclusive offer ends when November does. Don’t miss out – it won’t be this affordable again this year!
This piece was first published here on Alchemy Publications.
The price of bananas is always rising in Portugal, but you can still buy a kilo for about one euro. We shouldn’t complain, they say. It’s inflation, baby!
Everything has become more expensive here in Europe following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and there’s nothing we can do about it. However, one very special banana was recently sold for a mind-blowing amount of cash.
At the end of 2019, around the time of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan created a rather controversial art piece. He put together two ordinary items you generally find at home, a banana and a piece of duct tape, and he used the latter to stick the fruit on a wall—at Art Basel in Miami, where it stayed for several years.
The artist called his artwork “Comedian,” and the emoji-like curvature of the banana duct taped to the wall is rather comic, to say the least, and it has always reminded me of Nirvana’s smile.
The yellow smiley face popularized by Kurt Cobain’s band is probably one of the most powerful icons of the 90s counterculture. The twirly-mouthed smiley face with a zoned-out stare will endure for years to come, proving that the simplest artwork may be the most attention-grabbing.
Nobody knows where the idea for Nirvana’s icon originated; some say Cobain himself drew the logo, and SubPop used it because they noticed how impactful it was in its simplicity.
One difference between a great work of art and a mediocre one is that a great work tends to become commonplace and a mediocre one doesn’t because it already is. — Vergílio Ferreira
“Comedian” stems from the same basic principles but amplifies the message by raising a discussion about the meta-aspects of art itself.
The idea that everything is ephemeral and transient is a powerful message imprinted in the image of a banana relentlessly stuck to a wall and condemned to rot away.
However, the story doesn’t end here. The banana has been replaced countless times. The composition requires the banana to appear relatively “fresh.”
The concept of art doesn’t decay. Art transcends the physical object itself.
Back in 2019, social media brought this artwork to the limelight. How could a simple banana be considered art? Many wondered?
Well, art is like that. It raises more questions than answers.
Portuguese essayist Vergílio Ferreira explains how a work of art is not to be “understood,” but only for us to be “aware” of it. There is what has a limit and what is limitless. Art is the perfect form of awareness of these opposites.
The concept of art doesn’t decay. Art transcends the physical object itself.
The artwork in question was eaten several times. The first time it happened was while the banana was displayed at Art Basel. Back in 2019, American performer David Datuna walked straight up to the art piece, ripped it from the wall, peeled it, and ate it while visitors watched in shock.
The banana was eaten not once but at least two times so far.
The second time it was a South Korean student who ate the banana displayed at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul.
When asked the reason why he ate the million-dollar banana.
The student replied, “I was hungry.”
Thirty minutes after it was eaten, the banana had already been replaced.
So like what happens with NFT art, whoever buys the artwork doesn’t buy the banana itself, but rather a certificate of authenticity.
That’s what happened on Thursday in New York when Maurizio’s art piece was auctioned at Sotheby’s on the Upper East Side, New York.
Bids were accepted in cryptocurrencies, and the auction started with a base value of $800,000 and reached $5.2 million. The final total amounted to $6.2 million with fees.
The banana on display at Sotheby’s was reportedly bought for 35 cents that day. A rather hefty price for a single banana, if I may say.
Looking at how the retail price range for US bananas is between $0.99 and $1.98 per kilogram, or between $0.45 and $0.90 per pound (lb), they could have probably found a cheaper option. I’ve checked, and in October 2024, the price per pound was $0.619.
The crypto millionaire who bought what is probably the most expensive piece of fruit in the world will receive a certificate of authenticity, a banana, a roll of duct tape, and a set of instructions on how to mount it on the wall.
The proud owner has nothing to worry about, as every item can be replaced as many times as necessary, whenever they decide to do so.
“Art is a line around your thoughts.” is a quote attributed to Gustav Klimt; I can work with that. Art is “the everything in nothing,” as Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa said about the “myth” in one of his most famous poems. If art is only in our thoughts. Then, the only question that remains is, can we put a price on art?
I’ll let you answer that one yourself.
“The artist doesn’t create the work of art, only its road signs. It is those who pass by who create it.” — Vergílio Ferreira
Thank you for the gift of your precious time.
How to join the Alchemy:
I Invite You to Join Alchemy Publications
A diverse collective of publications fueled by creative alchemy
How to write for Engage:
Engage Is Where You Become the Story
We welcome you to our community. Engage helps you grow your Medium audience as we amplify your personal stories
Not exactly Het Melkmeisje, which is my favorite piece of art.
I read about this, and felt the same way I always feel when I read about the amount of money people pay for these non real art pieces. IMO, it’s uber wealthy people trying to draw yet more attention to themselves, instead of giving their money, time and effort to people who don’t have the time to even read about such ridiculous things because they’re working three jobs.
I understand it’s symbolic, but let’s give reality a place at the table.
I prefer art like what you said about Cobain; ones that are meaningful but aren’t sold for astronomical prices.