5 years after Maurizio Cattelan‘s creation of “Comic” – a banana duct-taped to a wall – the paintings is ready to be auctioned off by Sotheby’s in New York Metropolis subsequent month, probably fetching an astonishing $1.5 million. Nevertheless, the successful bidder won’t obtain the unique banana, however quite a certificates of authenticity granting them the fitting to show the work, together with detailed directions on how to take action, a brand new banana, and a roll of duct tape.
When “Comic” was first unveiled at Artwork Basel Miami in 2019, it sparked intense debate and divided opinions inside the artwork world earlier than garnering international consideration and even gracing the duvet of The Put up. Sotheby’s David Galperin advised The Put up “Daring to redefine what artwork will be, Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comic’ grew to become some of the talked-about sensations of the artwork world,” including that the work “continues to seize the zeitgeist.”
Cattelan initially created three editions of “Comic” for Artwork Basel Miami, buying three bananas for lower than a greenback at an area grocery retailer. Two of the works offered for $120,000, whereas the third was donated to the Guggenheim Museum. Now, “Comic” – that includes a recent banana and a brand new roll of duct tape – can be on a “international tour,” being exhibited at Sotheby’s galleries worldwide earlier than the public sale in New York Metropolis on November 20.
Artwork critics emphasise that the bodily illustration of “Comic” will not be the work itself, however quite the piece raises questions and concepts about what constitutes “artwork.” Writer Brian C. Nixon, in his guide “Magnificence (and the Banana),” described “Comic” as a “commentary on the wild world of modern artwork, speaking how tradition understands, interprets, and engages with the humanities.”
The recognition of “Comic” at Artwork Basel was evident when efficiency artist David Datuna ate the banana off the wall as a part of his personal efficiency piece titled “Hungry Artist.” The banana was promptly changed later that day. The paintings’s recognition even led to its removing from Artwork Basel by curators involved about potential injury to different works as a result of crowds making an attempt to catch a glimpse of the banana.
Cattelan, the Italian artist behind “Comic,” has been described by Sotheby’s as “amongst Modern Artwork’s most sensible provocateurs.” In 2016, he made headlines with one other paintings titled “America” – a sculpture of a totally practical golden rest room.
