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Somebody ate the $120,000 banana

Remember that banana ‘artwork’ that sold for $120,000 last week? Well somebody ate it.

Performance artist David Datuna ripped the duct-taped banana directly off the wall in Art Basel and proceeded to eat it in front of stunned observers.

The $120,000 banana titled Comedian was removed from the gallery wall and eaten by a performance artist last Saturday at Art Basel.

His reasoning for eating the banana? Simply put, he was hungry.

To be completely honest, the banana, created by the artist Maurizio Cattelan and titled Comedian, was inevitably going to get a bit disgusting sooner or later. Luckily for the proud owner of the banana, the artwork came with a certificate of authenticity that indicates the banana can be replaced at any time by a fresh new long boy.

The artwork is meant to represent “a symbol of global trade”. A director at the gallery, Lucien Terras, explained that “He did not destroy the art work. The banana is the idea”. Soon after demolishing the fresh produce, Datuna was apprehended by security guards and formally questioned. However, he was soon released from custody and he has not been charged with anything. He commented on his decision in a later Instagram post, “I love Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork and I really love this installation. It’s very delicious.”

The artwork brings a whole new meaning to the age-old question, “what is art?” Judging from the popularity of the piece, it seems we may still be searching for an answer. Maybe one day we will see all the produce of a Harris Farm exhibited in a museum. Who knows how much that may go for. No matter what, the artwork sure seems fresh in more ways than one.