A $120,000 Banana Is Peeled From an Art Exhibition and Eaten

In plain sight of art aficionados and influencers, a prankster removed a $120,000 banana from an Art Basel exhibition in Miami Beach on Saturday, peeled it and then ate it.

It happened on the second-to-last day of the art show, where much fuss and head scratching this week has been over a solitary banana — an overripe one — duct-taped to a wall.

Three buyers paid between $120,000 and $150,000 this week for limited-edition pieces featuring a single banana, created by the artist Maurizio Cattelan and titled “Comedian.” Each came with a certificate of authenticity and replacement instructions, which perhaps should have included a disclaimer: for display only.

Shortly before 2 p.m. on Saturday, a New York City-based performance artist, David Datuna, peeled the taped banana from the wall and devoured it, an Instagram video posted by Mr. Datuna showed.

He grinned and raised the half-eaten banana as if making a toast.

Another video posted on Twitter showed Mr. Datuna appearing to be escorted out of the Galerie Perrotin space as bemused and stupefied art patrons watched.

But a spokeswoman for Galerie Perrotin, which represents Mr. Cattelan, said in an interview on Saturday that the gallery was not taking any action against Mr. Datuna.

“It’s all in good spirits,” the spokeswoman said. “Perrotin is not pressing any legal charges.”

Gallery officials replaced the banana with another one, saying that the artwork was not destroyed and that the banana was simply an “idea.”

Mr. Datuna poked fun at the episode in an Instagram post he titled “Hungry Artist,” writing: “Art performance by me. I love Maurizio Cattelan artwork and I really love this installation. It’s very delicious.”

Mr. Datuna and Mr. Cattelan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

source: nytimes.com