Astronomical prices, artificial intelligence or even vandalism, like every year, the Art world has many surprises in store for amateurs.
From an auction which aroused criticism to a royal portrait which divided by its aesthetics, including a thousand-year-old vase broken by a child, some works of art, old or contemporary, stood out in 2024, but not obviously for the message they wanted to convey.
“Comedian” or the taped banana
After acquiring the “Comedian” banana signed by the Italian Maurizio Cattelan for the sum of 6.2 million dollars (5.9 million euros), the Chinese-American entrepreneur Justin Sun consumed the fruit in front of the cameras last November.
The businessman declared at the time that he wanted to “eat the banana to make it a unique artistic experience and honor its place in both the history of art and popular culture.”
If the fact of tasting this work in 2024 led to criticism for some and mockery for others, the latter created just as many waves in 2019 during its first exhibition at Art Basel Miami Beach. “Comedian” was then eaten by the American artist David Datuna. “Millions of people are dying of hunger. And he puts three bananas on the wall for half a million dollars?” he said.
The portrait of Charles III
Unveiled on May 14 at Buckingham Palace, the first official portrait of Charles III since his coronation did not fail to surprise the whole world.
Depicted in the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made colonel in 1975, on a glowing canvas, started before his accession to the throne, the painting was created by the British portraitist Jonathan Yeo.
On social media, the work was so divisive that some called it “hideous,” while others found it “fantastic.”
The writer AI
The latest novel by Japanese author Rie Kudan, “Tokyo-to Dojo-to” (Tokyo Tower of Compassion), which received the Akutagawa Prize last January, was partly written with AI. “About 5% of the book is AI-generated sentences,” Rie Kudan revealed.
A statement that sparked existential questions about the threat artificial intelligence poses to the creative industries.
A vase in a thousand pieces
A 3,500-year-old Bronze Age vase used to transport local products, such as wine and olive oil, was broken by a 4-year-old child while visiting the museum in Hecht from Haifa, Israel last August.
The object was displayed at the entrance to the museum, without protection, since this brought “a particular charm” and allowed archaeological works to be discovered “without obstruction”, reported the BBC.
Soup for Van Gogh
Last September, two environmental activists from the “Just Stop Oil” group were sentenced by British courts to prison terms for throwing tomato soup on Van Gogh’s masterpiece, “The Sunflowers.” , at the National Gallery in London.
Phoebe Plummer, 23, was sentenced to two years in prison and Anna Holland, 22, received a 20-month prison term. The facts date back to October 14, 2022. The decision was denounced by Greenpeace. For the NGO it was a “disproportionate sentence for a demonstration which caused minor damage to a painting frame and none to the canvas itself”
