Mockery Erupts After Banana Duct-Taped to Wall Art Piece Valued at $1 Million

The infamous modern art piece of a banana duct-taped to a wall has been valued at more than $1 million, sparking outrage and mockery from online art enthusiasts.

Simply titled Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, the art piece went viral in 2019 at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair where three editions of it sold for between $120,000 and $150,000; five years later, the piece has an estimated worth between $1 million and $1.5 million for a Sotheby’s auction on November 20. David Galperin, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art, told the Associated Press that Cattelan created a provocative work of art. 

“What Cattelan is really doing is turning a mirror to the contemporary art world and asking questions, provoking thought about how we ascribe value to artworks, what we define as an artwork,” Galperin said.

The highest bidder for Comedian will then own a certificate of authenticity to reproduce the display, since the bananas and duct tape are regularly replaced.

“What you buy when you buy Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ is not the banana itself, but a certificate of authenticity that grants the owner the permission and authority to reproduce this banana and duct tape on their wall as an original artwork by Maurizio Cattelan,” Galperin said.

Chloé Cooper Jones, an assistant professor at the Columbia University School of the Arts, said the piece stands at the “intersection of the sort of humor and the deeply macabre. He’s quite often looking at ways of provoking us, not just for the sake of provocation, but to ask us to look into some of the sort of darkest parts of history and of ourselves.”

Cooper Jones noted that the banana itself can be seen a symbol for colonialism and corporate power.

“It would be hard to come up with a better, simple symbol of global trade and all of its exploitations than the banana,” Cooper Jones said.

“No important, profound, meaningful artwork of the past 100 years or 200 years, or our history for that matter, did not provoke some kind of discomfort when it was first unveiled,” Galperin added.

As it did when it first debuted, news of Comedian being valued at more than $1 million sparked a significant response on social media.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.