Author's note: This was an assignment written in the Fall of 2019. 4 months before the lockdown.
Maurizio Cattelan’s latest masterpiece, “The Comedian” was on display at Art Basel this past week. It has been a center of controversy yet publicly called out the value of art. The piece made headlines after it was reported to be priced and sold for $120,000. Many artists were offended by the piece due to its simplicity and lack of skill. The intelligence of everyone involved was criticized on Social Media. Yet Fans of Cattelan’s work applauded him for his genius and brilliance. Lines formed as millennials prepped their smartphones for a selfie with the fruit. The piece was taken down on the last day of the weeklong event due to the growing disruption. A spotted banana duct taped to a white wall is truly something to behold. This essay is about “The comedian” and how it achieves to start a conversation about the pretentiousness of art for artists and art buyers by given tremendous value to something anyone can do. Though opinions waver, one thing is fact: Maurizio Cattelan is known prankster.
Cattelan connects with the general public by instilling questions for them to ask. An x-shaped composition of a real decaying banana suspended with gray duct-tape against a white wall, priced with six figures. Many visitors wondered if it was to be considered art or a way to avoid misplacing a snack. There’s a certain stereotype the general public believes when it comes to contemporary art, pretentiousness. Robert Ryman’s painting “Bridge” sold for a staggering $20.6 million; It’s a white canvas. Barnett Newman’s royal blue canvas with a white stripe sold for $43.8 million. With skyrocketing prices and simpler paintings, is the wealthy being duped at these auctions? Are art dealers just disguised con-men? Are artists be held to a lower standard for money? All these questions are asked when admiring Cattelan’s “The Comedian”. Most people asked, “who would buy this?”, yet three anonymous people did. Are they wealthy milquetoast swindled into buying? Are they uber-intelligent elite with a profound comprehension of art? Are they pretentious rich looking for a tax write-off? The questions continue to stir for every viewer. Cattelan knows of all the stereotypes and is critical of it himself. Yet as a frivolous artist and prankster, he figured how to fool everyone. The title gives away the truth, “The Comedian” is telling a joke. Questions about its value are designed to be asked when you see the taped banana and the price.
Cattelan’s work is all about criticizing something the public idolizes or respects and make them question its value. “The comedian” was exhibited at the largest and most important art convention in the United States, Art Basel. Many of struggling artists dream for the chance to be included by one of the many galleries. The ‘Coachella of art’ is the crème de la crème and a driving force in what will trend. Cattelan’s banana is completely out of place, he knows it. The piece exclaims a specific insult to the entire convention regarding the phallic shape of the banana and how it’s typically eaten. Catellan even stated how, “an eggplant, say, would not have been so effective”. The insult to the art world goes over everyone’s head, even the art critics. Though a formal artist statement has not been revealed by Maurizio Cattelan, there’s a very clear intention. In Milano, Cattelan was commissioned to make a sculpture for Italian Stock Exchange. He erected a giant marble sculpture of hand with only its middle finger pointed to the sky. The shocking sculpture was built in 2010, post-recession for Italy. The sculpture flips-off the glorified stock exchange, which participated in the downfall of the Italian economy. Maurizio Cattelan is a master of symbolism and thinks of the message he wants to send out subliminally. “The Comedian” is no different, it’s meant to say that the Art world has become frivolous and more about business rather than true art.
Cattelan’s infamous banana is a symbol of what artists aspire to be. While the flashes of light from photographs snapped away, one gentleman shoved his way to the front. With complete confidence, he peeled the banana from the wall and ate it. The starving artist was David Datuna, a painter who proclaimed the banana was “good enough to eat”. The stunt brought the elusive banana back to reality, it’s just a banana. Images of him posing with the ingested banana made headlines on every major News outlet. A consternated gallery representative walked up and pulled Datuna aside. Though he was kicked out of Art Basel, why did he do it? Datuna said in an interview with The Guardian, “Warhol put banana on a canvas, Cattelan takes a real banana and puts it on the wall. David took banana from the wall and ate it!”. There’s an interesting reference in that quote, Andy Warhol. There’s no business man quite like Andy Warhol who took the art world from hundred-year-old oil paintings to hip screen-printed canvases. Warhol was all about marketing and business. Warhol’s famous painted banana is a part of art history and Velvet Underground’s album cover. It’s iconic as a Campbell’s tomato soup can. Cattelan alludes to the famous artist by placing a real bruised banana. According to Cattelan, he worked on the idea of the piece for a year. He cast versions in resin and plastic until he settled on the real deal. This decision had to have been a reference to Andy Warhol himself. You can’t criticize the financial aspect of the art world without referencing the person who started it all. While Cattelan’s sculpture paid homage to Warhol, Detuna’s ‘performance’ was derivative and in the moment. Detuna confessed when he saw the price, it took him 15 minutes to take action. The stunt was a protest to the pretentiousness of the art world, what Cattelan was already doing. Plenty of other artists took to social media and satirized “The Comedian” with different objects. An official Instagram account was created to showcase versions of “The Comedian”. Many artists commented that they could’ve taped a banana to wall, but Cattelan did it first with an idea behind it.
The original version of “The Comedian” was revealed on the cover of New York magazine in 2018. Though the tape’s color is different, it’s the same concept. It takes on a whole other meaning, is he insulting New York itself? It’s far more ambiguous which is why he developed the piece over a year. Maurizio Cattelan’s brilliance is in the way he thinks of where the piece is displayed and what the piece is named. If he named it anything else, it would come across as pretentious. If he changed the banana to a Campbell’s soup can, it wouldn’t work as well. There was a goal to connect with the general public, art dealers, and artists themselves. Though the work is very minimal and very inexpensive, there’s a powerful message in the number it was priced at. What is the value we give inanimate objects over real people? David Datuna criticized how “the banana costs 20 cents” yet two sold for $120,000 and one for $150,00 when “millions are dying without food”. A new movement called, “The Platanito Protest” has taken over Miami. Many underpaid janitors took to the streets to protest how “a banana is worth more than us”. They have taped bananas across their chest and used it as a symbol of wrongful value. Cattelan had something to say about value of art but has caused tremendous controversy. Is Maurizio Cattelan’s “The Comedian” genius? One thing is for sure, the little banana has made the world go bananas.
