The #bananagate goes wild
He needs no introduction and he knows it, Maurizio Cattelan who recently exhibited his latest work, Comedian, with the Parisian gallery Perotin at Art Basel in Miami. Fort the few ignoring the subject, Comedian is a banana duct-taped to a white wall.
Nothing new under the sun: neither the banana, nor the tape, nor the use of common materials elevated to Art. The typical irreverence of a carefree Cattelan stems from a work that is thought, on a path that spans several decades. So why stick a banana to the wall? The ruckus unleashed by Comedian has rebounded on all socials, in all media, all over the world, creating millions of dollars of revenue for companies that have exploited instant-matketing to advertise condoms, funerals, as well as a return of image after a few years of inactivity. The winds are wasted in shouting condemnations, pronouncing blessings, breathing sighs, mocking an artist who has nothing to prove to the audience.
Some examples of the guerrilla instant-marketing of the past few days
Cattelan’s artistic path is enough to legitimize Comedian and to guarantee it the unequivocal status of artwork, and that same path separates him from that group of people who have a conception of art that wants to be static and weak according to the old, outdated concept that Art would have no need for explanations. Maurizio Cattelan is the paradigm of modern man who thinks and communicates, produces and earns, creates that particular world in which he feels free.
A perfect day, 1999, live performance, Milan photocourtesy of artibune.com
Maurizio Cattelan remains true to himself, just think of past works like America, A perfect day, Charlie don't surf to remember that his body of works has always conducted disenchanted reflections on the role of the market, that as far as the Italian artist is concerned, at the moment is not very generous (in less than 20 years his works have been unveiled of about 76%, but this retrocession has not prevented that in 2016 the sale of his works has created an induced of 13 million dollars, nor that the turnover of its creation, from 2000 to today worth 76 million dollars with the USA in first place - 71%, followed by England with 26% - source: artprice.com). An italian gallery in Brescia is selling next week an Untitled (Zorro), Acrylic on canvas (auction base 200,000€, estimated 3/400,000€).
Untitled (Zorro), 1993, Acrylic on canvas, 80*100 cm, courtesy of Studio d'arte Martini
Auction location: Studio d'arte Martini Borgo Pietro Wuhrer 125 25123 Brescia BS Italy