Did you hear the one about the banana, taped to a wall, titled ‘Comedian’ by its creator, artist Maurizio Cattalan, and then sold as a piece of art at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for a reported $9.6 million? But wait, there’s more! It was bought and subsequently eaten by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur called Justin Sun.
I don’t know about you, but when art stories like this surface, as they do from time to time, part of me thinks that if there’s someone willing to spend that amount of money on something so absurd, good on the artist. Seems to me the joke’s on the buyer. Mostly, however (and in this case in particular), my thoughts turn to all the good that could have been done – all the people who could have been helped – had Mr Sun instead donated his many millions to a good (or several good) causes.
The other interesting thing is wondering how much I might be paid were I to tape a banana to a wall, and the answer to that is immediate – nothing! Sotheby’s would not even take my call. And that, in a nutshell, tells us something about art and the ridiculous, inexplicable nature of human beings.
I can link that story in only one way to my current series of watercolours! The little landscapes I continue to enjoy creating (one of which is shown above) are painted in an area that is the shape of a gumleaf, and that gumleaf is roughly the length (and even more roughly the shape) of a banana!
Bananas aside, the year is up and running with the following …
Willoughby Art Centre’s Members’ Exhibition at Ewart Gallery, 33 Laurel St, Willoughby (NSW), on now until Saturday 18 January (closed Sundays)
HAS Volunteers’ Exhibition, Wallarobba, 25 Edgeworth David Avenue, Hornsby (NSW), from Tuesday 11 to Sunday 23 February (closed Mondays)
A4 Art Australia, Herring Island Gallery, Melbourne (Vic), from Saturday 1 March to Monday 21 April (check website for open dates), then online until Monday 30 June
The Village Kitchen, 83 Old Bells Line of Road, Kurrajong (NSW), Friday 11 April to Friday 16 May, 2025
Sydney Royal Easter Show, Sydney Olympic Park (NSW), from Friday 11 to Tuesday 22 April
Until next month!