South Korean art student ate $120,000 banana in protest

The artwork titled «Comedian» is a ripe banana taped to a wall at the Seoul Art Museum Lium

South Korean art student swallowed a banana that was the centerpiece of a $120,000 (£95,600) piece of art, which he described as a hungry act of rebellion.

No Hyun-soo removed the ripe fruit and ate it. , which was duct-taped to a wall in an exhibition by artist Maurizio Cattelan at Seoul Leum Art Museum.

Titled The Comedian, the piece is one of Cattelan's most iconic pieces of art, selling for six, a hefty sum, when he first appeared at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019.

At first, Mr. No told gallery staff that he missed breakfast and was hungry.

But he later explained to local KBS media that he acted in the belief that Mr. Cattelan's work was a rebellion against certain authorities.

“Against a rebellion, be another riot,” he said. .

“Damage to a work of art can also be considered a work of art. I thought it would be interesting… Isn't it duct-taped to be eaten?»

Mr. No placed an empty banana peel behind the duct tape, and the museum staff later replaced it with a fresh one. banana.

Mr. Cattelan said he saw «no problem» with the student's actions.

Viral moment

When the artist first showed a duct-taped banana four years ago, it became one of the most viral moments in the art world, along with a feverish debate about what it represents.

Mr. Cattelan is known as an absurdist and is known for his satirical conceptual art that challenges popular culture.

According to a press statement from Galerie Perrotin, the art gallery behind the Comedian sale, the artist had the idea a year earlier.

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“Every time he traveled, he took a banana with him and hung it in his hotel room to find inspiration. He made several models, first in resin, then in bronze, then in painted bronze, [before] finally returning to the original idea of ​​a real banana,» the statement released by CNN said.

Comedian's three buyers who bought the idea, not the object, as the banana rots quickly.

Mr. Cattelan is also known for replacing the toilet at the Guggenheim Museum in New York with a fully functioning gold one in 2016. He called the work of art America.