Comedian (artwork)

***Comedian*** is a work of art made by Maurizio Cattelan in 2019. It is made of a banana duct taped to a wall. Three editions of the art were made. Two of them were sold for $120,000.

## History

Maurizio Cattelan is known for making strange art. His sculpture _America_ is a working golden toilet. He has used duct tape before by taping a person on a wall for an art gallery. He bought the banana used in _Comedian_ for about 30 cents. Emmanuel Perrotin was the exhibitor of _Comedian_. He said it has many meanings and is a good way to show humor. It was the first time in more than 15 years that Cattelan's art was shown in an exhibition.

## Reception

Some people did not think it should really be called art. _The Guardian_ said it was a "questionably genius work". They said the price of the art reminded them of a joke in the sitcom _Arrested Development_ about not knowing how much a banana costs. _Artnet News_ said it was one of the worst works of art for the week. They thought that the price was foolish. _USA Today_ made jokes about the art's price. _Newsweek_ called it "humorous" and "minimalist" (art that uses simple ideas). CBS News said it was "the most talked-about" work of art at the gallery. _Comedian_ was put on the cover of _The New York Post_ for a day.

### Purchases

Three editions of the art were made. Two of them were bought at the art gallery Art Basel for $120,000. This got the attention of mass media. One of the editions was bought by Sara Andelman (a founder of a fashion shop). Another was bought by Billy and Beatrice Cox. They said that they knew some people thought it would be foolish to buy it. They bought it because they said it would be "iconic" and "historical". It came with a certificate to show that it is the real art.

### Intervention

Artist David Datuna ate one of the editions at the Art Basel. He called his intervention _Hungry Artist_. A new banana was used after that. No legal complaints were made, but Datuna was told to leave the gallery. He said that anything done to the art can be art itself. "I am a hungry artist, and I am hungry for new interactions."

### Meanings

Some people tried to think of what the art could mean, while others did not think it was serious. Artist Sebastian Errazuriz duct taped a dildo on a wall and tried to get $12,000 from it. CryptoGraffiti made jokes on trying to find bitcoin keys in bananas. Brooke Shields taped a banana on her forehead and put it on Instagram with the text "An expensive selfie". Design Simon Porte Jacquemus made an image of a bag he designed with tape on it. Many other companies made images of their products being taped.

## Removal

_Comedian_ was taken out of the art gallery on December 8, 2019. Curators did this because they thought people would harm other works of art at the gallery. They made an apology for those that wanted to see it. Emmanuel Perrotin made an account on social media about _Comedian_ after that. One of the walls that had the art was vandalized with the text "Epstein didn't kill himself".

## Related pages

- In front of you (Garau)

## Infobox (artwork)

- **title**: Comedian
- **alt**: A yellow banana with a strip of silver-colored tape across, attached to a white wall
- **artist**: Maurizio Cattelan
- **year**: 2019
- **city**: Miami Beach, U.S.
- **museum**: Art Basel