ALBAWABA - The famous, or infamous depending on who you ask, $6.2 million art piece called ‘Comedian’ – a piece of banana duct taped to a wall – has been stolen.
The masterpiece by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan displayed at the Pompidou-Metz museum in France was stolen just a year after a gallery visitor ate it.
On Saturday, a museum security guard noticed that the famous/infamous banana was missing from the wall, the museum called the police and filed a criminal lawsuit before replacing the missing banana with a new one – which will no doubt be well-secured without risk of someone eating or stealing it. “No irreversible damage has been noticed.” a museum representative said in a statement, according to the UK Times.
The crescent-shaped snack first debuted at Art Basel in Miami where it sold for $120,000; hungry art enthusiasts can’t get enough of it however as it was eaten when it was on display in South Korea in 2023.A year later, a Chinese crypto mogul, Justin Sun bought the art piece at an auction for $6,200,000 and after buying it, chewed it up as well.
Last year, on July 12, the banana was eaten again by a visitor only to be replaced by Cattelan again; it’s imperative to note that Cattlelan first bought the original banana for 35 cents from a 74-year old fruit vendor in New York City - we will if it will survive long enough to rot this time.
