Here is information that will certainly fuel the sarcasm of detractors of contemporary art (unless it slips over them like a foot on a banana peel). Sotheby’s New York will auction, on November 20, Comedian (“Humorist”) by Maurizio Cattelan, which consists of a banana attached to the wall with adhesive tape. The work of the Italian artist is estimated between 1 and 1.5 million dollars (between 923,000 and 1.4 million euros).
Comedian was first exhibited in December 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach. The gallery then acquired it for 120,000 dollars (110,000 euros). The problem is that, a few days later, the American artist David Datuna took it down to eat it, commenting: “Millions of people are dying of hunger. And he puts three bananas on the wall for half a million dollars? »
Comedian exists in three copies. The first two editions were sold for $120,000 each by French gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin. The price of the third edition has been increased to 150,000 dollars (140,000 euros). Exhibited in a Seoul museum in 2023, the work once again landed in a stomach, in this case that of a South Korean art student, Noh Huyn-soo. “No problem,” reacted Maurizio Catellan to the Guardian.
“A comment and reflection on what we give value to”
As AD points out, Comedian is “made to fascinate rather than scandalize”. Maurizio Cattelan is known for his creations combining humor, cynicism and provocation, like The Ninth Hourlife-size sculpture of John Paul II struck down by a meteorite.
” In my opinion, Comedian is not a joke. It is a comment and a reflection on what we give value to. At art fairs, speed and business reign. So I see it like this: if I have to be at a fair, I have to be able to sell a banana like others sell their paintings. I have to be able to play within the system, but with my own rules,” the artist explained to The Art Newspaper three years ago.
It’s the concept that’s being sold, not the banana
Obviously, as Comedian is not a still life able to withstand the onslaught of time, when the work is exhibited, the banana is replaced regularly so that it does not rot on the wall. What Sotheby’s will therefore put up for sale at auction is not the fruit, but the artistic concept… which fascinates, tenses, annoys, and takes on media coverage. The proof, we wrote this article.
Before being put on sale, Comedian will be exhibited in several cities around the world, including Paris, on October 30. The opportunity to go and devour it with your eyes.
