Korean Student Eats $120K Banana Artwork

Facts

• A South Korean art student has eaten a $120K art installation featuring a banana that was duct-taped to a wall at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul— a piece created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan known as "Comedian" and presented in his "WE" exhibit.¹
• Noh Huyn-soo, a student at Seoul National University, was videotaped eating the banana and told the museum that he was "hungry" when asked why he ate it.²
• After eating the fruit, Noh placed its peel back in its spot on the wall. He later said that the banana should be eaten since it's replaced every few days, adding that his actions constitute art as he transformed Cattelan's piece and put it on display.³
• Museum workers quickly replaced the banana, and the museum has said it won't press charges against Noh. "Comedian" is the centerpiece of Cattelan's exhibit at the Leeum, which will be shown through July.⁴
• Meanwhile, Cattelan says he has "no problem at all" with the student's actions. This isn't the first time "The Comedian's" banana has been eaten, as in 2019, performance artist David Daruna consumed it after the piece sold for $120k at Art Basel in Miami.⁵

Sources: ¹South China Morning Post, ²New York Post, ³BBC News, ⁴NPR Online News, and ⁵Independent.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Star. It goes without saying that a banana can never be worth $120k, and the art community's blind enthusiasm to accept this piece as "art" goes to show just how far society has fallen since the Renaissance. Art enthusiasts — determined to force a "deeper meaning" on everything — are now unable to perceive the obvious: Cattelan just taped a banana to a wall.
• Narrative B, as provided by The Conversation.While undoubtedly an unusual piece, art is in the eye of the beholder, and regardless of one's personal opinion, ultimately, this is vandalism. Besides, everyday objects have been readily accepted as artwork since the mid-20th century, and Cattelan's piece is actually a direct challenge to this notion.