Comedian is a work of art made by Maurizio Cattelan in 2019. It is made of a banana duct taped to a wall. Three editions of the art were made. Two of them were sold for $120,000.
| Comedian | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Maurizio Cattelan |
| Year | 2019 |
| Type | |
| Medium |
|
| Location | Art Basel, Miami Beach, U.S. |
Maurizio Cattelan is known for making strange art. His sculpture America is a working golden toilet.[1] He has used duct tape before by taping a person on a wall for an art gallery.[2] He bought the banana used in Comedian for about 30 cents.[3] Emmanuel Perrotin was the exhibitor of Comedian. He said it has many meanings and is a good way to show humor.[4] It was the first time in more than 15 years that Cattelan's art was shown in an exhibition.[5]
Some people did not think it should really be called art.[6] The Guardian said it was a "questionably genius work". They said the price of the art reminded them of a joke in the sitcom Arrested Development about not knowing how much a banana costs.[3] Artnet News said it was one of the worst works of art for the week. They thought that the price was foolish.[7] USA Today made jokes about the art's price.[8] Newsweek called it "humorous" and "minimalist" (art that uses simple ideas).[9] CBS News said it was "the most talked-about" work of art at the gallery.[10] Comedian was put on the cover of The New York Post for a day.[11]
Purchases
Three editions of the art were made.[12] Two of them were bought at the art gallery Art Basel for $120,000. This got the attention of mass media. One of the editions was bought by Sara Andelman (a founder of a fashion shop). Another was bought by Billy and Beatrice Cox. They said that they knew some people thought it would be foolish to buy it. They bought it because they said it would be "iconic" and "historical".[13] It came with a certificate to show that it is the real art.[14]
Intervention
Artist David Datuna ate one of the editions at the Art Basel. He called his intervention Hungry Artist. A new banana was used after that.[15][16] No legal complaints were made, but Datuna was told to leave the gallery.[17] He said that anything done to the art can be art itself. "I am a hungry artist, and I am hungry for new interactions."[18]
Meanings
Some people tried to think of what the art could mean, while others did not think it was serious. Artist Sebastian Errazuriz duct taped a dildo on a wall and tried to get $12,000 from it.[19] CryptoGraffiti made jokes on trying to find bitcoin keys in bananas.[20] Brooke Shields taped a banana on her forehead and put it on Instagram with the text "An expensive selfie".[21] Design Simon Porte Jacquemus made an image of a bag he designed with tape on it.[21] Many other companies made images of their products being taped.[22]
Comedian was taken out of the art gallery on December 8, 2019. Curators did this because they thought people would harm other works of art at the gallery.[23] They made an apology for those that wanted to see it.[24] Emmanuel Perrotin made an account on social media about Comedian after that.[25] One of the walls that had the art was vandalized with the text "Epstein didn't kill himself".[26]
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