Banana sells for US$6.2 million at auction

redmanjp · Postby **redmanjp** » November 22nd, 2024, 5:13 pm

silly me i ate all my artwork this week. cud of been a multimillionaire right now

Duct-taped banana artwork sells for $6.2m in NYC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy87202v43no

Maurizio Cattelan's provocative artwork of a banana duct-taped to a wall has fetched $6.2m (£4.9m) at Sotheby's in New York - four times higher than pre-sale estimates.

The auction house says Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun outbid six other rivals to get the "Comedian" installation of the Italian visual artist on Wednesday.

"In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience," Mr Sun was quoted as saying.

The taped banana - now perhaps one of the most expensive fruits ever sold - was actually bought earlier in the day for a mere $0.35, according to the New York Times.

"Comedian" was first unveiled to the public in 2019, instantly becoming a viral sensation and also provoking heated debates about what art is.

The installation - which has travelled around the world - comes with instructions on how to replace the banana whenever it rots.

In fact, the fruit has been eaten not once, but twice.

In 2023, a South Korean art student helped himself when the installation went on display at Seoul's Leeum Museum of Art.

The museum later placed a new banana in the same spot, local media reported.

Four years earlier, a performance artist pulled the banana from the wall after the artwork was sold for $120,000 at Art Basel in Miami.

The banana was swiftly replaced, and no further action was taken.

Justin Sun runs the Tron blockchain network, which facilitates some cryptocurrency transactions. Last year the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of fraud, saying he had falsely inflated trading volumes of TRX, Tron’s crypto token. Mr Sun denies the charges.

hover11 · Postby **hover11** » November 22nd, 2024, 5:14 pm

Easiest way to lauder money buy meaningless art

paid_influencer · Postby **paid_influencer** » November 22nd, 2024, 5:34 pm

hover11 wrote:Easiest way to lauder money buy meaningless art

bro u got any crypto

trinislick · Postby **trinislick** » July 1st, 2025, 12:13 pm

It's wild to see people dropping millions on something as simple as a banana taped to a wall. I never really understood the hype behind these kinds of modern art stunts, but I guess it gets people talking and even brings in some serious cash if you find the right buyer. If I ever spent that much, I'd want something more permanent, not a piece of fruit that needs swapping out.

Funny thing is, Justin Sun was in the news before for stuff like inflated trading volumes on his projects too. There’s actually some interesting discussions on how folks create volume patterns and trading histories for tokens—if you want to learn more, see here.

hover11 · Postby **hover11** » July 1st, 2025, 12:16 pm

Money laundering at its peak

trinislick wrote:It's wild to see people dropping millions on something as simple as a banana taped to a wall. I never really understood the hype behind these kinds of modern art stunts, but I guess it gets people talking and even brings in some serious cash if you find the right buyer. If I ever spent that much, I'd want something more permanent, not a piece of fruit that needs swapping out.