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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the I-don't-see-the-appeal dept.

When I started dating my now husband, the decor in his dorm apartment included a banana that he and his roommates had drunkenly taped to the wall. ...Twelve years later, believe it or not, he still has it in a plastic bag somewhere in our apartment.

So imagine my surprise when I arrived at the VIP preview for Art Basel Miami Beach and discovered that Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan had done exactly the same thing. The most important difference being, of course, that this version—sourced from a local Miami supermarket and on sale from Perrotin, the Parisian gallery with locations in New York and across Asia—cost a cool $120,000.

"We sold it already," announced a triumphant Emmanuel Perrotin as I took a close look at the piece, titled Comedian. The buyer, a French woman, has bought work from the gallery before, but never a work by Cattelan, I was told.

By the time I left the booth, a deal on a second edition of the piece had also been closed, sold to a French man. (Perrotin told him about my husband's banana, to reassure him that the banana would age well, and the collector threatened to buy that one instead.)

[...] After the second sale, Perrotin quickly texted Cattelan, and the two agreed to raise the price to $150,000 for the third edition of the work, which they have decided to sell to a museum—and two institutions have already expressed interest, according to the gallery. (There are also two artists proofs of the work, only one of which is for sale.)

[...] The artist wouldn't speak to the work's meaning, but he was partially inspired by the large number of paintings he's seen at galleries recently. "I'm not in Miami, but I'm sure it's full of paintings as well," said Cattelan. "I thought maybe a banana could be a good contribution!"

https://news.artnet.com/market/maurizio-cattelan-banana-art-basel-miami-beach-1722516


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:10PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:10PM (#931172)

    Is this a money laundering scheme? I’ve bought some awful overpriced art before, but I’d never buy a banana for $120k.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Arik on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:38PM

      by Arik (4543) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:38PM (#931192) Journal
      "Is this a money laundering scheme?"

      It IS an art gallery, so signs point to yes.
      --
      If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    • (Score: 5, Funny) by krishnoid on Wednesday December 11 2019, @08:52PM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @08:52PM (#931221)

      Not laundering [youtube.com], per se.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:50AM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:50AM (#931302)

      I’d never buy a banana for $120k

      That's probably deeply rooted in the fact that you don't have a spare $120k that you'd rather spend making a statement like buying a duct-taped banana as opposed to some other use for the money.

      Lighting cigars with $100 bills is so passe'...

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:18PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:18PM (#931177)

    Buyers are going bananas over these.

    • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @11:39PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @11:39PM (#931265)

      I can understand the apeel.

      • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Thursday December 12 2019, @06:03AM

        by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Thursday December 12 2019, @06:03AM (#931329)

        But its still just a bunch of B.S.

        --
        Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:21PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:21PM (#931178)

    I'm going to shit in my hand and throw it at a blank canvas hanging on the wall. The title of my artwork shall be called "Shit" and the starting bid is $150,000. I might take it up a notch by eating a pound of black licorice, two big macs, and having a ruptured hemorrhoid to give it some color.

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:29PM (6 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:29PM (#931181)

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist's_Shit [wikipedia.org] more or less already done.

      • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:59PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:59PM (#931205)

        Needs "+1, Depressing" mod.

      • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:03PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:03PM (#931223)

        Those are Italian food rations.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:07AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:07AM (#931271)

          No, the food ratios sell for less.

      • (Score: 2) by istartedi on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:13PM (1 child)

        by istartedi (123) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:13PM (#931228) Journal

        They should send a can of it to this guy. [youtube.com]. I'm not suggesting that he actually eat it, just that it would be a delightfully absurd mashup.

        --
        Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:59PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:59PM (#931234)

          Just Eat It [theguardian.com].

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:35AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:35AM (#931279)

        Well ... shit

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:24AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:24AM (#931297)

      Replying to myself...
      I'm going to duct tape a dildo to the front of my garage door and call it "Drive In".

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:31AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:31AM (#931307)

        If the piece includes the garagedoor we have a deal!

    • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday December 12 2019, @04:13AM

      by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 12 2019, @04:13AM (#931319) Journal

      It's been done. Of course, the artist was a chimpanzee....

      --
      Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Arik on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:40PM (3 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @07:40PM (#931193) Journal
    It's the endless stream of wannabes imitating him, badly.
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:40PM (1 child)

      by Thexalon (636) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:40PM (#931233)

      I don't know, there's times when I look at Andy Warhol's stuff and think Valerie Solanas might have had the right idea for the wrong reasons. There's some of Warhol's work in the modern section of my local art museum, and I find it among the least interesting pieces there.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 12 2019, @01:52PM

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday December 12 2019, @01:52PM (#931387) Journal

        Minimalism can be sublime, but a banana duck-taped to a wall doesn't strike me as that. The latter, and Andy Warhol in general, are the pretentious, absurd sort of thing that places like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NY go in for.

        On the other end of the spectrum there's Dia:Beacon, an art museum up the Hudson that has divine works; Bill Jacobson's pieces [theculturetrip.com], sculptures made from old car bumpers, or Richard Serra's [squarespace-cdn.com], made out of gigantic pieces of battleship steel, are a couple examples of how much complexity and effort can be distilled into something seemingly simple.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by LVDOVICVS on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:06PM

      by LVDOVICVS (6131) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:06PM (#931235)

      The movie "Gummo" featured a scene with bacon taped to a bathtub wall. That was 1997. Bananas and duct tape isn't even trying hard.

      https://screenqueens.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/1.jpg [wordpress.com]

  • (Score: 2) by Mykl on Wednesday December 11 2019, @08:23PM (2 children)

    by Mykl (1112) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @08:23PM (#931215)

    The art world is one big scam. I wouldn't be so mad about it if it weren't for the tax breaks that the rich manage to get out of it. This video is instructional [youtube.com]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:34AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:34AM (#931310)

      Written form please.

      • (Score: 2) by Mykl on Thursday December 12 2019, @11:11PM

        by Mykl (1112) on Thursday December 12 2019, @11:11PM (#931561)

        One form of the scam:

        1. Purchase art for an overpriced amount
        2. Wait a few years (optional)
        3. Have a friendly valuer come in and value the work for an even larger overpriced amount
        4. Donate the work to a public gallery
        5. Claim the newly inflated value (not what you paid for it!) as a donation tax deduction
        6. Also pick up all sorts of perks from the gallery that you donated to
        7. Profit!

        So, for an initial outlay of, say $100k, you could get a tax deduction of 3-4 times that in a few years if you play your cards right. Art owners love valuers coming in with high estimates, as it increases the value of everyone's stock and makes the above scam even more profitable for all.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:01PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:01PM (#931222)

    A fool and his money are soon parted.

    I wonder how many buyers are going to be upset when the banana they purchased starts to rot.

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:35AM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:35AM (#931311)

      A fool and his money are soon parted.

      I'd bet if you check into the finances of the banana buyers, they can probably keep coming back to Miami every year for the rest of their lives and dropping half the cost of a suburban home on a piece of art every year without even dipping into the principal of their funds. Who's the bigger fool, the one who spends their money on things that appeal (pun intended) to them, or the one who dies with it all in a bank?

      I might even wager $0.02 that they've made purchases like this in the past, many times, and this one is arguably their most "successful" art purchase to-date, due to the attention it has garnered.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bradley13 on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:09PM (9 children)

    by bradley13 (3053) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @09:09PM (#931226) Homepage Journal

    There seems to be something in the human psyche that tends to extremism. Leftists/progs, when they only talk amongst each other, get crazier and crazier, thinking that they can change human nature and make socialism actually work. On the right wing, it's no better: certain subgroups in the US are seriously talking about a hot civil war: again, because they feed off of each other and never allow a reality check to intrude on their fantasy world.

    Artists trapped in the art world? They probably actually think that taping a banana to a wall is art. Or putting a dot of paint on a blank canvas. That's only because they are in a world of other nutty artists and art critics, feeding off of each other. And if some art buyer is willing to pay $120k for a snack? Well, I guess that's good, because it at least gets the money circulating again instead of sitting in their trust fund.

    Personally, I'm of the opinion that art makes a great hobby - whether it's music, acting, painting, or whatever - but a terrible profession. IMHO the value in art lies more in participation than in gawking at weirdness produced by arrogant nitwits.

    --
    Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:11PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:11PM (#931236)

      Good artists actually have some skills and are humble enough to keep in mind when they are bullshitting rich people, which is its own skill.

      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:40AM (1 child)

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:40AM (#931315)

        Great artists aren't bullshitting their collectors, they truly deeply believe whatever it is they are selling.

        In the case of banana and duct tape, I'm pretty sure the product is absurd whimsy - isn't this fun? Remember when we all doubled our money in three years because the US elected an insane child who let the markets run wild?

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:15PM (1 child)

      by Freeman (732) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:15PM (#931238) Journal

      How much is it worth, if you eat the banana, but leave the peel?

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:37AM

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:37AM (#931313)

        The value is in the certificate of authenticity, which I believe comes with instructions on how to replace the banana and tape when necessary.

        If you think about the cost to restore the great Masters' oils on canvas, and you compare that to $0.19 a week to replace the banana (roughly $500 per century), the banana is probably cheaper to maintain in the long run.

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:41AM (1 child)

      by Bot (3902) on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:41AM (#931281) Journal

      I agree and adding my observations.

      Art is a state of mind, the desire of producing something other than the functional basics for the sake of appreciating it or the joy of making it. Functional BASICS, because pure functional research, e.g. in coding the most elegant implementation, when extra and not really needed, represents art nonetheless. Miura, Countach, F40, Dallara stradale and koenigseggs and paganis are art, even the cybertruck is art because it took effort to not refine a POS like that. Obviously Musk saw the Asfane diecidieci and thought Jeez, guys got world famous by making a completely troll supercar and I have that truck to design...

      Artwork is sometimes art, and is subdivided in reproducible and limited. Mp3 is reproducible, handmade or industrial in limited edition is limited.

      The successful limited art artist is good in making rich guys get his stuff. For this is helpful to employ a consistent style. The rest is connections and lottery.

      The successful reproducible art artist is instead a decoy, reproducible art makes the middleman rich out of a multitude of creators who work for peanuts or less. So it's good to keep the 20 VIP artists and shower them with money so lil guy dabbling in the arts wants to be a pro and starts creating.

      Finally, ars est propaganda (for both the possible translations hehe), especially now that paying public is out of style and support by political entities is rising.

      Of course, many artists know that but enjoy creation so much that they persist.

      --
      Account abandoned.
      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:31AM

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:31AM (#931308)

        I see a strong parallel between the Cybertruck and the VW Thing: simple flat metal panels. I also see a strong devil may care how much it weighs aesthetic playing through even the body panels - the thing is going to be extremely heavy already due to the battery packs, but it's big enough that it can carry them (and should have a pretty smooth ride as a result, too.) So, as long as you're making a heavy vehicle, why not use flat body panels and thicken them up until they are strong enough, instead of forming thinner panels into complex curving surfaces for rigidity? I worry about the tires - they're probably going to be a problem point in the design, both keeping the rolling resistance down and the longevity and traction up while carrying so much weight. Still, definitely a statement, my $100 deposit went in on opening day.

        As for marketing my own art... I've always had a day job, which makes it really hard to compete with the "full time living the lifestyle" artists when it comes to getting buyers to open their wallets.

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:21AM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:21AM (#931306)

      There are all kinds of art. Art Basel Miami is, foremost, about art that sells for money - lots of money. As such, the banana is a successful commercial artwork. Further, it has gotten all this free press: worth far more than its selling price.

      To sell art, you have to appeal to the buyer. To sell (simple to make) art in the $120K-150K price range, you have to appeal to that crowd of maybe 1000 people in the entire world who both have the money and also have the desire to "make a statement" with the art they purchase - whether for themselves or for a museum. Again, Basel Miami is an event where this kind of thing can happen - once in a while.

      This kind of simple to make art (I'm reminded of the knot paintings [icaboston.org] I saw in the Hirshhorn in 1988), has to strike the fancy of the buyer - which is a complex combination of the artist's projection of themselves, the mindset and mood of the buyer(s), and a whole lot of dumb luck. It has absolutely nothing to do with the cost, time, or effort involved in making the piece, and certainly nothing to do with any intrinsic value.

      I don't play anywhere near this level, but as a buyer I bought a Diamond Rio [wikipedia.org] back in 1999 - not because it was a great device: clearly much better ones were coming, but as a statement of support for the fledgling industry. As a seller, when I showed my limited edition prints arrayed all sincerely on the wall of a local restaurant for $200 a piece for their weekly show, a customer stepped up and bought one - not because $200 was any kind of bargain, but because he knew I was a local artist and probably felt good about supporting the scene, and whenever he looks at that piece on the wall he will be reminded of that...

      As for the French millionaires who get off on duct-taped bananas, I'm sure it will be the source of cocktail party amusement for years to come, something they may be lacking? If this has any close connections to money laundering, then it has been an epic fail - money launderers abhor attention.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:08PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:08PM (#931391) Journal

      There's a lot to what you're saying. Often the artists and works that are supposed to impress you, don't, and you become cynical about the whole thing.

      Then you see art that stops you in your tracks. That's magical. We saw an El Anatsui [wordpress.com] exhibit a few years ago that used bottle caps and bits of trash to create sculptural tapestries, and it blew me away in a way that Monet never did.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:12PM

    by Freeman (732) on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:12PM (#931237) Journal

    Yeah, some of the things people call "Art" are bizarre. Duct Taping a Banana to a wall and calling it art, requires large helping of bravado.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:20PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 11 2019, @10:20PM (#931239)
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Bot on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:44AM

      by Bot (3902) on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:44AM (#931282) Journal

      That is called an art performance. It was titled 'then, you eat the banana', a tribute to monty python.

      --
      Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 2) by legont on Thursday December 12 2019, @01:23AM (1 child)

      by legont (4179) on Thursday December 12 2019, @01:23AM (#931289)

      But when another guy wrote “Epstien didn’t kill himself.” on the same wall, he was arrested.
      https://nypost.com/2019/12/09/banana-wall-vandalized-with-jeffrey-epstein-theory-at-art-basel/ [nypost.com]

      --
      "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
      • (Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday December 12 2019, @11:40PM

        by Bot (3902) on Thursday December 12 2019, @11:40PM (#931568) Journal

        Well, 2+2=4 and Epstein didn't kill himself in prison are obvious statements. If the guy had written 2+2=4 he'd have been charged all the same? Probably.

        --
        Account abandoned.
  • (Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:13AM

    by Bot (3902) on Thursday December 12 2019, @12:13AM (#931272) Journal

    I checked out, he lives indeed some 100 miles from here. Having been informed of this article he wants to greet the SN crowd with a sculpture, L.O.V.E. (means Like, Obviously, Very Edgy) that you can see pictured in the background, at https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CattelanLOVE.jpg [wikipedia.org]

    --
    Account abandoned.
  • (Score: 1) by Ron on Thursday December 12 2019, @05:22PM

    by Ron (5774) on Thursday December 12 2019, @05:22PM (#931453)

    This only proves that some people have more money than brains.

    Also, that Modern Art is nothing but an exercise in arrogance.

    Fish tanks with basketballs in it, a vacuum cleaner on a pedestal, a urinal, a short piece of rope thumb-tacked to the wall, three common flourescent light fixtures on a wall... all these and more have been celebrated as modern art and sold for ridiculous amounts of money.

    Did the industrial designers of the vacuum, the basketballs, the urinal, the lights, etc. get any royalties from the sale of that "art?" Modern art is also a hypocrisy in addition to pure arrogance. It is a game of egos.

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