Audio By Carbonatix
Art collectors are going bananas over an artwork that essentially consists of a real banana duct-taped to a white wall at an art gallery, with some paying as much as $120,000 for it.
Titled “Comedian”, the original artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was on sale this week from Parisian gallery Perrotin, at the Art Basel festival in Miami. The first edition of the artwork was snatched up by a French art collector for the mind-blowing price of $120,000, and according to gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin a second edition of Comedian was already sold for the same dizzying price.
After successfully selling two bananas for a total of $240,000, the artist and the Perrotin gallery owner decided to to up the price of the third edition to $150,000.
“We already sold it!” a triumphant Emmanuel Perrotin told reporters. “It’s a miracle; I don’t know how this happened!”
Apparently Cattelan is considered somewhat of a prankster in the art world, but Perrotin Gallery insists that the artwork currently causing such a stir in the art world is no joke.
In fact, the artist allegedly came up with the idea for Comedian last year and spent a lot of time considering every aspect of the artwork, from the shape of the fruit to the angle its been duct-taped to the wall, to the size of the wall itself. He apparently even considered using a fake banana in the beginning.
“Every time he traveled, he brought a banana with him and hung it in his hotel room to find inspiration,” a statement from Perrotin Gallery stated. “He made several models: first in resin, then in bronze and in painted bronze, finally coming back to the initial idea of a real banana.”
If you’re trying to figure out how the artist and his gallery settled on the price of $120,000 for Comedian, they apparently tried to strike a balance between an amount that would have been considered insignificant, and one that would people would think of as outlandish. I guess they succeeded…
Comedian has been a hit at Art Basel Miami, with visitors queuing up to snap selfies with it, but organizers aren’t worried that the expensive artwork might get stolen. Should that happen, they already have another banana on hand. After all, without Maurizio Cattelan’s certificate of authenticity, it’s just a banana duct-taped to a white wall.
Latest Stories
-
Is talk of “losses” by GoldBod just abstract drivel? Bright Simons asks
30 minutes -
US Strikes: Ondo Amotekun arrests 39 fleeing suspected terrorists
37 minutes -
New Passport Office opens in Techiman, bringing vital services closer to Bono East residents
1 hour -
Anthony Hopkins shares advice as he celebrates 50 years of sobriety
1 hour -
KTU Radio wins international award for its unique programme on World College Radio Day
2 hours -
German court jails man for drugging, raping and filming wife for years
2 hours -
Ashanti police intercept 2,600 AK-47 rounds and tactical gear at Asankare Barrier
2 hours -
Alhaji Agongo builds lifeline facility for Ghana Police Hospital’s ‘Unknown Patients’
2 hours -
Removal of Chief Justice Torkonoo had economic implications – Samson Lardy Anyenini
2 hours -
Ronaldo will not retire until he scores 1,000 goals
2 hours -
Amerado shuts down Okese Park with third edition of My Motherland Concert in Ejisu
2 hours -
Mahama visits Kufuor at Peduase to extend Christmas and New Year wishes
2 hours -
Man City close to agreeing terms Bournemouth to sign Semenyo
2 hours -
Time is right to change Man Utd formation – Amorim
2 hours -
Akufo-Addo’s record not entirely negative despite economic challenges – Anyenini
2 hours