Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON ecosystem, has purchased Maurizio Cattelan’s controversial 2019 artwork Comedian for $6.24 million USD via a Sotheby’s auction.
The art, which is simply a fresh banana affixed to a wall with duct tape, initially drew significant attention upon debut at Art Basel Miami in 2019, with two editions being sold for $120,000 USD each, and a third donated to the Guggenheim Museum.
In a bizarre post on X, Sun has offered the piece to Elon Musk, in the hopes that it is “[taped] to the body of a SpaceX rocket, and [sent] to both Mars and the Moon!”
What is Comedian?
Comedian is a controversial artwork created by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2019. Created as a series of three works, it appears simply as a banana duct-taped to a wall.
Upon its debut at Art Basel Miami in 2019, the piece had to be removed from the fair as the growing queues to see the piece posed a risk of damage to the other artworks on display at the fair. Since then, the piece has attracted cult status in particular art circles, and became a viral sensation as brands jumped onto the concept.
Comedian is not Cattelan’s first piece to target modern societal behaviours in an ironic form. In 2016, he debuted America – a fully-functioning 16-karat gold toilet – which was infamously stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019.
Why did Justin Sun purchase Comedian?
Upon announcing his purchase of the piece on X, Sun revealed his reasons for purchasing the piece.
“This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”
Commentators have argued that, in the wake of Trump’s second term, Sun may have purchased the piece to gain the attention of the incoming administration, in the hopes of fostering favourable relations.
Bullish on web3. Competitive soul.