Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun acquired the work this week Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan during a contemporary Art auction organized by Sotheby’s in New York. Deciphering the motivations behind this unexpected purchase.
A simple yellow banana attached to the wall with duct tape sold for $6.2 million at an auction at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. If this information leaves you perplexed, it is because you understand the very essence of the work. This is precisely what Maurizio Cattelan, the artist and provocateur behind Comedian. Cattelan has long established himself as a master in the art of defying the conventions of the art world. Whether it’s his golden toilet (America) or his hanging taxidermic animals, his work places as much emphasis on the reaction it provokes as on the object itself.
The real star of this work is not the banana itself, but you and your reaction to it. Because let’s be honest, since its first presentation at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, Comedian caused a frenzy in the art world.
As a child, I watched my mother bargain in the bustling markets of Tunisia and Morocco, where we lived. That’s when I understood a simple truth: the value of an object is measured by what a person is willing to pay to obtain it. But Comedian goes beyond the simple laws of supply and demand. Its true power lies in its ability to confront us with the very notion of value, especially in the world of art, where meaning and the absurd often coexist on the same wall.
What sets this banana apart from the one that’s turning black on your counter? The intention that carries it. A banana is transformed into a work of art when it is attached to the wall in prestigious galleries like Perrotin or White Cube, its value resting not on its material, but on the concept it embodies. Buyers do not acquire a simple object, but an idea, as well as the rights to reproduce Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan as an authentic work.
Cattelan once said: “ Comedian was no joke; it was a sincere reflection on what we value. » With this work, he pushes us to question our own conception of value and meaning, by elevating simple materials to the rank of art. Yes, it’s absurd, but it’s also deeply meaningful: a brilliant satire that asks an essential question — what makes something art?
This question goes to the heart of the subjective theory of value, an economic principle developed at the end of the 19th century and widely debated since. Defended by pioneers like Carl Menger, William Stanley Jevons and Léon Walras, this principle affirms that the value of an object depends neither on the work, nor the time, nor the materials necessary for its creation, but rather on the context and the perception. A bottle of water, sold for a dollar at the corner store, becomes invaluable when you find yourself thirsty in the middle of the desert.
Comediansold for $120,000 in 2019 and now acquired by cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, perfectly illustrates the subjective theory of value, highlighting the often arbitrary nature of the valuation of works of art. The true value of Comedian lies in the meaning and the debates it provokes — a characteristic which, although emblematic, is not new in the history of art.
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp transformed a simple urinal into a work of art with Fountainshaking up the boundaries of the artistic world of his time. Likewise, in 1961, Piero Manzoni created Artist’s Shita provocative work composed of 90 boxes each supposed to contain 30 grams of excrement, questioning artistic conventions. More recently, Damien Hirst, with his shark preserved in formalin, and Banksy, with his self-destructed painting, have explored the limits between art and spectacle. Just like these iconoclastic works, Comedian is not content to be glued to a wall: he makes fun of the walls themselves.
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp transformed a porcelain urinal into a work of art with Fountain, challenging the traditional boundaries of the art world of the time. Artist’s Shit, the 1961 anti-art work by Italian artist Piero Manzoni, sought to do the same thing; the work consisted of 90 cans, each apparently filled with 30 grams of excrement. Damien Hirst’s Shark in Formalin and Banksy’s Self-Destroying Painting both tested the limits of art and spectacle. Like these works, Comedian does not remain frozen on a wall: he criticizes its very essence with irony.
Like his predecessors and contemporaries who marked the history of art with their spirit of dissidence, the true strength of Comedian lies not in its insignificant materials, but in the reactions it provokes. Maurizio Cattelan was fully aware of this when he said: “ I always take the risk of ridicule, because if the work doesn’t provoke any reaction, it doesn’t work. » The success of this creation rests entirely on its reception: the sighs, the laughter, the debates that it generates.
Works like Comedian act as mirrors of the values of our society, oscillating between seriousness and ridicule. The art world, like this work, evolves in a precarious balance between elitism and absurdity, meaning and nonsense. So let’s appreciate each other Comedian for what it says about art or for what it says about ourselves? Perhaps, as Andy Warhol said, “ art is all we can afford “. What if, finally, we ourselves had validated this transgression of limits by these artists?
Using a simple fruit and duct tape as a medium, Comedian invites us to question the fragility of the value systems that structure the art market. Is it a satire of the art world, a criticism of the public, or perhaps both at the same time?
A contribution by Natalie Stoclet for Forbes US – translated by Lisa Deleforterie
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