The story of the $120,000 (eaten) banana just won’t end, and tonight it took another, even more surreal turn.
The now-iconic white wall that as recently as Saturday held a duct-taped banana – arguably the world’s most expensive – at Art Basel Miami Beach was “vandalized” on Sunday afternoon, forcing exhibitors to cover up the writing in red lipstick with a white cardboard. The banana, which attracted hundreds after it sold to an art collector for $120,000, was replaced with the phrase “Epstien (sic) didn’t kill himself,” written with red lipstick.
There's always money in the banana stand.https://t.co/Up3lydwv98 pic.twitter.com/ZrIXPGYew5
— Rudy Havenstein, Nous Sommes Tous Pimco. (@RudyHavenstein) December 9, 2019
According to the Miami Herald, the surreal scene confused those who were present in the gallery, most who assumed it was just another “art” performance: “This is the gallery where anyone can do art, right?” the man is heard saying in a video provided to the Miami Herald when a security guard confronted him.
Sacha Medici, 24, was strolling inside the Miami Beach Convention Center, hoping to spot Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s banana art piece, titled “Comedian,” which was eaten by a performance artist on Saturday afternoon.
“When we got to the wall, it was white and empty,” Medici said. “We saw this guy live-streaming… and he starts writing on the wall and I was like, ‘No way, there’s no way this guy is writing.”
Miami Beach Police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said the incident was reported at 4:50 p.m. and a man they identified as 46-year-old Roderick Webber of Massachusetts was arrested on charges of criminal mischief. A spokesperson for Art Basel directed any questions to authorities. Katherine Wisniewski, spokesperson for the Emmanuel Perrotin art gallery, where the vandalized wall is located, said their gallery is not affiliated with Webber.
“If someone can eat the $120,000 banana and not get arrested, why can’t I write on the wall?” Webber shouted as he was escorted out of the convention center, according to a police report.
Medici said that as the man wrote on the wall, everyone around her stared and recorded videos on their phones. Some pointed out he had misspelled the last name of Jeffrey Epstein.
And since art imitates life, security promptly covered up the “Epstien didn’t kill himself” sign.
Earlier in the day, the infamous $150,000 banana duct-taped to a wall had disappeared again, this time because the gallery owners decided it was becoming an unsafe distraction, clearly anticipating an event such as this.
“We sincerely apologize to all the visitors of the fair who today will not be able to participate in Comedian,” Galerie Perrotin, where the work was being showcased, said in a statement early Sunday, the last day of the exhibition.
The Comedian is the name of the work by the Italian artist provocateur Maurizio Cattelan, composed of a ripe banana, duct tape and a 14-page manual for its installation and upkeep.
As we reported yesterday, just before 2pm on Saturday another artist provocateur named David Datuna unpeeled tape and skin and ate the banana. “Art performance,” he said. He was a “hungry artist,” adding that it was “delicious.”
In its statement, Art Basel thanked the security guards who helped control the lines to see the banana – or the concept of transience of oblong yellow fruit or something, as Bloomberg put it. In short, enough was enough.
“The installation caused several uncontrollable crowd movements and the placement of the work on our booth compromised the safety of the artwork around us, including that of our neighbors,” the statement said. “Comedian, with its simple composition, ultimately offered a complex reflection of ourselves,” it said.
No it didn’t: it was a damn banana duct-taped to a wall and some idiots thought it was worth $150,000.
So to summarize:
- Banana duct-taped to a wall sells for $150,000
- Someone eats the banana
- Someone writes Epstein didn’t kill himself
- Security covers up the message.
Not even the Fed could come up with a fake version of reality as warped as this one.
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Yes! This is even better than “Rip off the Duct Tape and Eat the Banana!”
Epstein sleeps with the bananas.
Just thought of a great way to make a quick 120K. All I need is some super glue and a mackerel.
“A herring”
‘Truth’ seeking ‘art’.
First of all, it isn’t original, Magritte had him beat by almost a century. Second, it is inherently flawed because of it’s organic nature (object to be destroyed by the elements was a series of paintings I did in the 70’s which were landscape paintings on living trees, boulders, etc.). Not that there is an inherent problem with that conceptually, but there is when it is offered for sale to a collector. What will the piece appear like in three months time? Fifty years? Four centuries?
My guess is that like nail salons, RV lots and Ukrainian Gas Companies, the art market has simply become a well oiled system of money laundering.
Yessir.
The banana will turn brown & mushy, losing its firmness.
Then rot and decay.
Oh, the parallels.
Duct tape would have eventually began to curl at the edges, losing its stickum.
Then it would all drop to the floor, and we’d have the proverbial banana peel slip and fall hazard, endangering the art viewing public, besides the night watchman.
He would have done better displaying the buns they use for McDogfood meatlike patties.
-Chock full of preservatives.
No mold would emerge, as even the spores can detect an absence of nutrition in such sludge that boobus americanus routinely ingests before malnutrion maladies crop up.
BWAHahahahhahhahhahhahahahhahhaha…..too bad he misspelled Epstein.
Now that is depressing. My banana ain’t turning brown and mushy, the wife will take care or that issue. btw, already happening as you described.
Ding-ding-ding.
HSF for the win.
Hey, all that QE has to go somewhere….
This whole “Epstein didn’t kill himself” meme serves the CIA adequately. It should be changed to “the CIA killed Epstein”.
Or the CF sent a few janitors to clean up that loose end mess.
Not if he is still alive in Israel.
Now THAT is priceless.