Some Guy Ate That $120,000 Art Basel Banana
An unusual art installation has been gaining a ton of publicity at Miami's Art Basel this year: a banana duct taped to a wall, titled "Comedian." It's a work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, the man behind a gold-plated toilet titled "America," and it made headlines this week when it sold for a staggering $120,000.
On Saturday, someone ate it.
David Datuna, a New York-based performance artist, took the banana from the wall of the Galerie Perrotin booth and consumed it, in a video he uploaded to his Instagram page. In the video, a woman is seen confronting him, apparently telling him, "Sir, this is stupid." Datuna captioned the video: "'Hungry Artist, Art performance by me 🙂 I love Maurizio Cattelan artwork and I really love this installation. It’s very delicious."
According to the Miami Herald, the work hasn't been devalued despite the fact that the banana has been eaten. Lucien Terras, director of museum relations for Galerie Perrotin, told the Herald, "He did not destroy the art work. The banana is the idea." Since the banana, which was visibly ripe already, was never meant to last, the work came with a certificate of authenticity, and that certificate is actually what collectors pay for.
Upon hearing that Datuna had deface "Comedian," gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin rushed back to the booth, clearly upset, according to reporting from the Herald. An attendee offered Perrotin his own banana in an attempt to cheer him up.
After the "Hungry Artist" stunt, Galerie Perrotin decided to pull the exhibit completely. In a statement on Sunday, the gallery said, "This morning, following recommendations, we removed the installation at 9 a.m. Art Basel collaboratively worked with us to station guards and create uniform lines. However, the installation caused several uncontrollable crowd movements and the placement of the work on our booth compromised the safety of the artwork around us, including that of our neighbors."
Datuna didn't eat the sole "Comedian" banana. The display was one of three, all of which reportedly sold for between $120,000 and $150,000.
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Originally Appeared on GQ
