Sotheby’s Upcoming Auction; Eyes on Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’
Sotheby’s is set to auction Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ on 20 November 2024 at its Now and Contemporary Evening Auction in New York. The sculpture is essentially a banana attached to a wall with duct tape. With an estimated sale price of $1 million to $1.5 million (up to ₹10 crores), the winning bidder would be given a banana, a roll of duct tape, a certificate of authenticity, and guidelines for displaying this sculpture.
‘Comedian’ History
‘Comedian’ emerged when artist Maurizio Cattelan duct-taped a banana to a wall in 2019. It sold for $120,000 (₹85 lakhs) at Perrotin’s booth in Art Basel in Miami Beach. Suffice it to say, it puzzled the art world. One person ate the banana [David Datuna] as a performance, others [Joe Morford] said they came up with the idea first, a lawsuit ensued, and a student even consumed another “installation” of the artwork. Record crowds attended the piece’s first showing, and its controversial content sparked arguments among viewers and critics, creating a commotion that forced its removal from the exhibition area.
Now, Sotheby’s will put one of the final editions of ‘Comedian’ back up for auction. Before the final auction, the installation is scheduled to go on a world tour to London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Los Angeles through several Sotheby’s galleries. It will be showcased in a one-day exhibition on October 28 in New York.
David Galperin on ‘Comedian’
According to the head of contemporary art for America, Sotheby’s, David Galperin, “The artwork is a transformation of the ordinary into the extraordinary.” Galperin emphasized that Cattelan’s art is consistent with a long history of artists who have questioned accepted ideas about what constitutes art. “He is elevating something so banal into something so extraordinary,” He remarked, considering the conceptual foundations of the work.
The artist challenges preconceived notions about art and provokes thought by using humour and absurdity. “He’s using humour, absurdity, and profound conceptual thought to rewrite our notions of what art could be.” This method seeks to reinterpret strict frameworks and guidelines that control the production and consumption of contemporary art.
“The most influential and radical artworks of the last century have had the power to fundamentally shift perceptions around the nature of art itself,” “In this spirit, Comedian is a defiant work of pure genius. Balancing profound critical thought and subversive wit is a defining work for the artist and our generation. With a single brilliant gesture, Cattelan rocked the foundations of the art world and brought art to the centre of mainstream popular culture.”
Who Owns the ‘Comedian’
After the gimmick, which fondled the brains of art lovers and connoisseurs, Cattelan created two more editions of the piece using bananas that cost less than $1 (about 30 cents). Sarah Andelman, the founder of the Parisian boutique Colette, and Billy and Beatrice Cox, art collectors from Miami, purchased two editions of the piece for $120,000 each. In 2020, the Solomon R. Guggenheim also received an anonymous gift of an edition of the piece.
Maurizio Cattelan on ‘Comedian’
These pieces have challenged viewers to consider the very schema that underpins art and its meaning, contributing to an irreverently playful iconoclasm. Speaking with Cattelan on the motivations behind Comedian, “To me, Comedian was not a joke; it was a genuine commentary and a reflection on what we value.”
CNN claims that since the original fruit has rotten, the banana and tape up for auction are not the originals. Sotheby’s argues that the public can determine the piece’s “true value” through this sale. An auction spokesperson told CNN, “Comedian is a conceptual artwork, and the actual physical materials are replaced with every installation.”
Describing the installation, Sotheby’s wrote on Instagram “…the piece has earned its place alongside the most radical artworks of the century, from Duchamp to Warhol.”
Image – Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’; Courtesy – Artnet News
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