In Dec. 2019, Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan went into an art museum in Miami Beach and displayed a banana duct taped to a wall.
You heard me right. A banana, a wall, duct tape and opposable thumbs were used to make a $6.2 million contemporary art piece.
Purchasing this work, which is entitled “Comedian,” does not include purchasing a wall and banana – instead you purchase the rights to reproduce the artwork, with the banana and tape intended to be regularly replaced.
It was recently sold to the highest bidder at an “art” auction. I have to put quotes around the word “art,” because by any definition of art I have ever heard, a banana taped to a wall is not it.
There exists a certain type of contemporary and modern art that has taken minimalism to an extreme – to the point where there is absence of skill or meaning. Works like “Comedian” act as if there is nothing more to art than pushing boundaries just for the sake of pushing boundaries.
Art is beautiful, it is a feeling and, most importantly, it communicates something. What does a duct taped banana really communicate? Besides “I want to prove people will drop money on anything they are told is valuable or ‘modern.’” If this is modern art, take me back to a time where people took pride in their work.
Art has a technique. Yes, there are varying levels and types of technique depending on the style of art, but there is always a foundation of said technique. Ballet is the foundation of all dance, including modern and street style dance. Knowing and utilizing that technique, even in unconventional places, elevates the dance piece.
Similarly, abstract art is beautiful, especially when it is made with artistic technique. However, painting a single circle on a huge white canvas and nothing else is not beautiful, nor is it art. It is a cry for help. The whole idea of art now being about what isn’t there has gone too far. If you know how to utilize negative space properly, it is a powerful tool. But there is a fine line between using it as a tool and using it because you are lazy.
The effort, time and dedication it takes to study art, develop a real understanding of how to represent objects in space on a page and have a point or a story you are telling is not insignificant. As an artist, you are constantly evaluating how to represent your subject. The slightest alteration changes the emotion of the entire piece – each line of a face has meaning. One line moving a quarter of an inch creates a noticeable difference in a face, figure or building. Art requires looking at how the lines of the buildings in front of you intersect, checking your perspective math and often erasing hours of work to best represent your subject.
Besides being an abomination to the art world, minimalist contemporary art is simply boring. Art is a skilled expression, but it has become sensationalized. I’m not interested in your childish thoughts landing on a canvas or eliminating the use of proper art materials to display your work.
Pablo Picasso, a modern artist, was trained to paint with intense realism, yet after he mastered that, he chose to paint differently and to find his voice. We cannot compare Picasso’s artistry and invention of Cubism to an Italian artist masquerading as a comedian to make a point.
I strongly urge you to reconsider the art you are consuming. It is everywhere – online, social media, museums and advertisements. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, art is “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination.” Look at the art and determine if it required both the use of skill and a creative imagination. If not, we may need to come up with a new term for it, because it is not art.
Eventually, some sensible hungry fellow came along, saw the banana so conveniently taped on the wall, and ate it. If I have the good fortune to meet this man, I will thank him exuberantly and profusely for his service to the art world.
If art can be eaten, leaving only a shell of the existing work in its place and there is no real skill used to create it, it is not art.
