Last night, cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun bought a banana for $6.2m. Okay it wasn’t any old banana, it was a controversial piece of modern art, titled The Comedian, which was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. And the work is a supermarket banana taped to the wall.
How long has the banana piece around?
Five years. The Comedian first debuted in 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach and caused an internet storm. Described by Cattelan – a surrealist artist – as “a sincere commentary and a reflection on what we value,” it brought people flocking in such droves that it was eventually taken off the wall.
Before it did, three editions of the artwork were sold for between $120,000 and $150,000 – and, in another piece of metaphysical commentary, an artist (not Catellan) took the banana off the wall and ate it.
The Comedian went onto inspire tattoos, Halloween costumes and an Instagram page of its very own, which showed pictures of people dressing as the gaffer taped fruit.
Quite aside from how many bananas this artwork has gone through (from last night’s prime banana, it’s clear Cattelan is not still working with the 2019 model).
Ahead of the auction, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art, David Galperin, said that “what Cattelan is really doing is turning a mirror to the contemporary art world and asking questions, provoking thought about how we ascribe value to artworks, what we define as an artwork.
Impressively well. The bidding started at $800,000, but Sun ended up paying around 40 times that to gain the rights to The Comedian. In fact, the auction was so hotly anticipated that guests flooded the floor to take pictures of the banana itself (which was guarded by two handlers).
“Don’t miss this opportunity,” the auctioneer, Oliver Barker, said. “These are words I’ve never thought I’d say: five million dollars for a banana.”
First of all, the artwork itself. Or more accurately, a certificate of authenticity that will let Sun tape a banana to a wall and call it The Comedian.
According to Galperin, “what you buy when you buy Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ is not the banana itself, but a certificate of authenticity that grants the owner the permission and authority to reproduce this banana and duct tape on their wall as an original artwork by Maurizio Cattelan.”
Plus, Sun will be getting the banana, and already has plans for it. In a statement, he declared that “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.”
The most expensive banana in history? We hope he enjoys it.