Comedian is a 2019 artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. The work, created in an edition of three, consists of a fresh banana taped to a wall with a piece of duct tape. Two editions of the piece sold for $120,000 USD at Art Basel Miami Beach to significant media attention.
Background and description
Cattelan is known for his tongue-in-cheek art, once having created America, a fully functional golden toilet. He previously used duct-tape suspension for A Perfect Dayin 1999, fastening the art dealer Massimo De Carlo to a gallery wall. For Comedian, he purchased the bananas at a Miami grocery store for an estimated 30 cents. Emmanuel Perrotin, the gallerist exhibiting the work, stated Comedian is "a symbol of global trade, a double entendre, as well as a classic device for humor." Cattelan stated, "The banana is supposed to be a banana." It was Cattelan's first piece of artwork for a fair in over 15 years.
Reception
Overall Comedian created controversy, with some writers, such as Robin Pogrebin, questioning if it was even art. The Guardian called Comedian a "questionably genius work ... It calls to mind the old Lucile Bluth Arrested Development gag about rich people not knowing the price of a banana". ArtNet wrote the piece was one of the worst of the week, and that Cattelan "somehow duped a group of collectors into buying bananas duct-taped to walls for $120,000 a pop. Seriously." USA Today deadpanned "This piece of art is bananas – literally". Newsweek called it "humorous minimalist artwork", while ARTnews asked whether the piece was cynical or thrilling. The piece was compared to Andy Warhol's 1967 pop art fruit. CBS News reported "It may be the most talked-about artwork at this year's event." On December 13, the New York Post featured Comedian on their cover.
Purchases
The piece was released in an edition of three; two were purchased for $120,000 USD at Art Basel. The selling price garnered significant media attention. One edition was purchased by Sarah Andelman, a founder of Colette. Another edition was sold to Billy and Beatrice Cox, who stated "We are acutely aware of the blatant absurdity of the fact that Comedian is an otherwise inexpensive and perishable piece of produce and a couple of inches of duct tape. When we saw the public debate sparked about art and our society, we decided to purchase it. We knew we were taking a risk, but ultimately we sense that Cattelan’s banana will become an iconic historical object". The purchased editions come with a certificate of authenticity. The banana can be replaced as needed.
Intervention
After its sale, while still on exhibit at Art Basel, Georgian performance artist David Datuna ate the piece, calling the interventionHungry Artist. The banana was replaced later that day. No legal action was taken against him, though he was asked to leave the fair.
Interpretations
Following the publicity the Comedian received, a number of commentators satirized or interpreted the work. Designer Sebastian ErraZuriz taped a dildo to a wall with duct tape and listed it for sale for $12,000. Cryptocurrency artist CryptoGraffiti created The Commodity, "which instructed collectors to find and claim a banana with a bitcoin key address carved into it". Actress Brooke Shields taped a banana to her forehead with blue tape and posted it to Instagram with the caption "An expensive selfie". Designer Simon Porte Jacquemus "created a merch opportunity when posting a duct-taped yellow version of micro Le Chiquito bag." Popeyes Chicken joined with the San Paul Gallery Urban Art located in Miami to create The Sandwich, a chicken sandwich taped to a white wall with duct tape; it was listed at $120,003.99 and "became a viral sensation in its own right". Multiple other brands followed suit, including the New York Mets, Burger King, Hostess, Perrier, Carrefour, Sweetgreen, Absolut, and Bobbi Brown.
Removal
In the morning on Sunday December 8, 2019, Comedian was removed from the fair because crowds queuing to see the piece caused enough commotion curators were afraid other art would be damaged. After the removal, the gallery released the following statement: "Comedian, with its simple composition, ultimately offered a complex reflection of ourselves. We would like to warmly thank all those who participated in this memorable adventure, as well as to our colleagues. We sincerely apologize to all the visitors of the fair who today will not be able to participate in Comedian". After the removal, Perrotin created a social media account dedicated to the piece. One of the walls featuring the piece was later vandalized with the meme "Epstein didn't kill himself", spelled "Epstien didn't kill himself", in lipstick, which was soon covered by the artfair.
