We’ve gone bananas. How exactly did this happen?

In 2019, Maurizio Cattelan taped a banana to a gallery wall and unveiled it to the art world. He titled this work “Comedian” and included three identical editions. Two of the banana artworks sold for $120,000 each, and the third was purchased for an undisclosed amount and donated to the Guggenheim Museum.

During its premier exhibit, “Comedian” drew attention when performance artist David Datuna ripped the banana from the wall and proceeded to eat it in front of a stunned crowd. Datuna claimed his action should also be viewed as disruptive art.

“Comedian” went on to become a viral sensation as it toured the world, sparking debate about its merits, meaning, and value. Like many other commodities, the banana came with instructions on to how to replace it once it rots. Satire aside, one of the duck-taped bananas was auctioned at Sotheby’s last month and sold for $6.4 million.

Sotheby’s David Galperin labeled the artwork as a “defiant piece of pure genius,” adding: “If at its core, ‘Comedian’ questions the very notion of the value of art, then putting the work at auction… will be the ultimate realization of its essential conceptual idea — the public will finally have a say in deciding its true value.” 

For his millions, the buyer received a digital certificate permitting him to tape a banana to a wall.

Who would spend so much on a banana that would decay and end up in the trash? The winning bidder was crypto executive, Justin Sun. In a press release, he said “Comedian” is not just an artwork, “It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.” 

But, be careful what you wish for.

In a Slate article entitled, The Guy Who Bought That Banana Is Actually A Criminal, author Nitish Pahwa writes, “On the surface, it’s a funny curiosity of a story that would normally take up just enough of the news cycle for viewers to jab their thumbs and mutter to one another, “Can you believe this sh**t?” But Justin Sun’s involvement here takes this beyond the realm of mere amusement and into something far more insidious: a yearslong saga of skimping on international law, funneling ill-gotten wealth and splurging ostentatiously, abusing employees, becoming the subject of government investigations, plagiarizing white papers, and sucking up to President-elect Donald Trump for the sake of rewiring American financial regulation as we know it. It’s a literal pay-for-play, with Sun announcing just one day after the banana stunt that he would invest $30 million in Trump’s crypto scheme, World Liberty Financial, and bail it out of financial insolvency, earning an advisory role with the firm in the process.”

Sadly, this is one more tale of American corruption and making light of it. It’s another iteration of financial excess, power, and privilege. It’s also more evidence of our nation’s misplaced values. Ultimately, the attention and money Sun’s rotting banana has received is a metaphor for American capitalism itself, which in its schemes, gimmicks, and dogginess has decayed into a dark, spoiled mess where non-things are more valued than human beings. 

Do you have thoughts about how Mr. Sun’s money might have been spent more wisely? Please share your ideas in the comment section below.