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Over the past decade, we’ve seen some seriously weird and mind boggling works of art. The mysterious way in which the brains of these artists work is beyond, at least my comprehension. The pieces created by these virtuosos are often deemed weird and somewhat confusing by the general public but somehow manage to capture the imagination of the elites.
And if you think this simpleton’s criticism is uncalled for and harsh, wait till I get to the point – yes, I do like taking my sweet time – and mention the newest entrant on the list of absurd artistry.
From “The Fountain” to “Shark in a Tank,” we’ve seen a fair share of crazy art pieces but this recent one by Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan might just top the charts.
At the 2019 Art Basel Miami event, Cattelan stuck three bananas on three different walls and passed them off as his artistic creation.
No, I’m not kidding, three ordinary bananas, pasted on the walls by using individual strips of grey duct tape were the main attraction of the exhibit! These artifacts are titled, Comedian and are quite amusing but when you hear the price at which they were sold, you’ll surely lose your mind a little.
Read: Danyal Zafar’s Blue Butterfly: A Lousy Attempt At Contemporary Art
Two of the three bananas were sold for $120,000 EACH!
For my desi readers, that is more than Rs. 1.8 crore!
A banana that’s almost worth 2 Crores. Not just that, the third banana is reportedly the subject of a bidding war between several museums and has crossed the $150,000 mark.
Of course I’ll wait…do let that sink in…
Maurizio Cattelan was previously famous for his creation, America, an 18-karat fully functional gold toilet.
America was hailed as a “comment on art, money and “Trumpian desire” and received plaudits from all over the world. The golden toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace past September and hasn’t been recovered since.
Well one of Cattelan’s creations was stolen and the other was eaten!
Yep, the New York based performing artist, David Datuna, took one of the bananas off the wall and simply ate it. Datuna said, “It’s the first time one artist eats the art of another artist,” and despite the hefty figure, “It tasted like a regular banana.”
Within 15 minutes of this stunt, the exhibit authorities duct taped another banana to the wall and said that Datuna “…did not destroy the artwork. The banana is the idea.”
So here’s the answer to your question about what happens when the banana rots(?): The banana is not the art, it’s an idea, an idea to generate butt-loads of money!
You can have your arguments over what is considered an art and what isn’t, truth is, the artist came up with the idea and cashed it in, solely because of his name and his reputation. Nobody would’ve batted an eye if an ordinary guy passed of three bananas pasted to a wall as art.
