Has he gone bananas? A banana, arranged by the artist Maurizio Cattelan, has sold for a huge sum. Some think the art world has gone crazy.
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Crypto boss buys a banana for £5m
Has he gone bananas? A banana, arranged by the artist Maurizio Cattelan, has sold for a huge sum. Some think the art world has gone crazy.
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It was an incredible moment at the auctionWhen an item is sold to the person that bids the most money for it. Auctions can take place in person or online. house in New York. Comedian - an artwork made from a normal banana taped to a wall - had just sold for $5.2m (£3.96m), with fees bringing the total to £5m.
The buyer was cryptocurrencyA digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than by a centralised authority. billionaire Justin Sun. He announced that he will eat the banana.
Comedian was created by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. His other works include a toilet made out of gold.
Sun has not just bought a banana and some tape. The main part of the sale is a certificate that gives him the right to recreate the artwork whenever he wants.
Some think Sun is a fool. A great painting like the Mona LisaAlso known as the Giaconda, a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It became one of the world's most famous paintings after a successful robbery in 1911. is valuable in part because of the skill used to create it. Comedian is a banana and some tape.
Yet others believe Comedian makes a bold point. Cattelan shows us how we have forgotten the real value of things. This makes it a powerful work.
Has he gone bananas?
Yes! Sun may be very rich. But even for him, buying a banana for £5m is ridiculousSilly or absurd.. Like many viral moments, Comedian will soon be forgotten.
No! Art moves faster than society. The artists Claude MonetA French painter and co-founder of the Impressionist movement. From 1883, he largely painted his garden. and Vincent Van GoghA Dutch artist who painted The Starry Night in 1889 while staying in a French mental asylum after suffering a breakdown. He died by suicide the following year. were not understood at first, but now they are seen as greats. Comedian will enter the history books.
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Keywords
Auction - When an item is sold to the person that bids the most money for it. Auctions can take place in person or online.
Cryptocurrency - A digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than by a centralised authority.
Mona Lisa - Also known as the Giaconda, a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It became one of the world's most famous paintings after a successful robbery in 1911.
Ridiculous - Silly or absurd.
Claude Monet - A French painter and co-founder of the Impressionist movement. From 1883, he largely painted his garden.
Vincent van Gogh - A Dutch artist who painted The Starry Night in 1889 while staying in a French mental asylum after suffering a breakdown. He died by suicide the following year.
Crypto boss buys a banana for £5m
Seriously?: The sale was the first time that “Comedian” (above) had appeared at auction, after first making a splash at Miami’s Art Basel fair in 2019 before travelling the world. The banana is one of an edition of three. Glossary
Auction - When an item is sold to the person that bids the most money for it. Auctions can take place in person or online.
Cryptocurrency - A digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than by a centralised authority.
Mona Lisa - Also known as the Giaconda, a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It became one of the world’s most famous paintings after a successful robbery in 1911.
Ridiculous - Silly or absurd.
Claude Monet - A French painter and co-founder of the Impressionist movement. From 1883, he largely painted his garden.
Vincent van Gogh - A Dutch artist who painted The Starry Night in 1889 while staying in a French mental asylum after suffering a breakdown. He died by suicide the following year.