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A few days ago, Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian sold for $6 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. While some heralded this as evidence of the art market’s recovery, I see it differently. Beyond the headline-grabbing prices of rare “trophy” works collected by billionaires competing for status symbols, the broader art market is showing signs of decline. The real story here lies in the power of memes — those cultural ideas, behaviors, styles, or trends that spread rapidly through social and digital platforms. This banana perfectly encapsulates the new trophies sought by emerging, crypto-rich collectors whose fortunes are often as ephemeral as the art they purchase.

The concept of the meme, first introduced by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, compares cultural information to genetic information and describes memes as “units of imitation.” Today, even those who rarely browse social media or watch TV encounter memes such as “Beep beep” or “The doneness is even” in work, social and cultural environments. As with these memes, Cattelan’s banana transcends traditional art, delivering cultural commentary, humor, and satire through its simplicity. It is both a critique and a product of the “league of their own” closed art market — disrupted by crypto enthusiasts.

Let’s step back to trace how a $6 million banana came to be, following its journey from artist, idea, galleries, art fairs, auction houses, museums, audiences and collectors.

Maurizio Cattelan was born to impoverished parents in Padua, Italy. After cycling through menial jobs, he launched his art career in the 1990s. For his first solo show, he hung a sign reading, “Be back soon.” In a group exhibition in Italy, he draped knotted bedsheets out a window, symbolizing escape and resistance — hallmarks of his early works, which often reflected anxiety, failure, and defiance of authority.

During this period, Nicolas Bourriaud’s influential theory of Relational Aesthetics was widely discussed. Bourriaud argued that art should go beyond being an object of beauty or personal expression, focusing instead on fostering relationships and communication among people. Cattelan’s works were prominently mentioned in Bourriaud’s writings (Bourriaud, notably, served as the artistic director for this year’s Gwangju Biennale). Institutional recognition, such as retrospectives, further legitimized Cattelan’s stature. His 2011–12 Guggenheim retrospective, for instance, saw nearly all of his works suspended from the museum’s iconic rotunda — a monumental acknowledgment.

Though Cattelan announced his retirement after that show, he returned within five years with a bang: America, an 18K gold toilet, fully functional and open for public use. Installed in a museum, the work mocked the extravagance of the American Dream. Yet rumors of its $2 million value led to its theft during a UK exhibition. The same year, he unveiled Comedian at Art Basel Miami, consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall. Limited to three editions, buyers received a certificate of authenticity. Whether the banana was eaten, stolen, or replaced, ownership of the artwork remained intact. The editions sold for $120,000 to $150,000 each, becoming a global meme and cementing its place in art history.

What makes Comedian remarkable is how it intersects with meme culture and the rise of crypto wealth. The banana, prominently advertised as purchasable with Bitcoin, was the only such artwork in the auction. While the NFT craze has cooled, strategies targeting tech-driven wealthpersist. Following the auction, billionaire buyer Justin Sun announced his purchase on Twitter. A cryptocurrency named “Comedian” was launched, leveraging the artwork’s viral fame. Sun’s acquisition appears to have been as much about self-promotion as about owning the work itself.

Much of this unfolded in New York, home to approximately 110 billionaires (as of 2024) the highest concentration in the world. Whether to see it in person or not really does not matter because the banana embodies the simulacra of our times — a spectacle that can just as easily be consumed through screens as IRL.The $6 million banana is more than an artwork; it is a meme, a social critique, and a symbol of the shifting dynamics in wealth and culture. Its journey reveals the art world’s evolution — driven by technology, humor, and the power of viral ideas. And, of course, a new form of meme-appropriate wealth called crypto. The meme, it seems, has become an ultimate currency.

Stephanie Seungmin Kim (김승민 큐레이터)

Original article in Hankook Ilbo [Kim Seung Min’s Art, Money, Market]