# Million dollar/six year old kid sister art {Banana Art} **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** arts-crafts\ **Created:** [November 22, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616 "2024-11-22T16:19:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/1 "2024-11-22T16:19:16Z")
[Duct-taped banana sells for $6.2M at art auction | KSL.com](https://www.ksl.com/article/51194326/duct-taped-banana-sells-for-62m-at-art-auction) So a banana duct taped to a wall sells for over $6 million at auction recently. This sort of thing is hardly news these days. I seem to recall a glass vial full of elephant urine sold for a tidy sum a number of years ago. I point out this most recent example because it simply suggests an established trend continues today. Now that we have years worth of examples of uber wealthy people purchasing simple objects that have been passed off as art, we should begin to have some answers to the questions a lot of folks have been asking for some time. Namely: 1. Who the hell is shelling out for this shit? 2. Why don’t they just duct tape their own banana to their front hallway, pound their own six inch nail into a two by four, or glue a photo of Madonna to a paper towel roll themselves and dispense with the whole seven figure auction business? 3. Be honest…you KNOW the “artists” are taking folks with too damned much money for a ride at their expense. I mean the joke’s on THEM, right? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/2 "2024-11-22T16:29:20Z")
- Who the hell is shelling out for this shit? - Why don’t they just duct tape their own banana to their front hallway, pound their own six inch nail into a two by four, or glue a photo of Madonna to a paper towel roll themselves and dispense with the whole seven figure auction business? - Be honest…you KNOW the “artists” are taking folks with too damned much money for a ride at their expense, right? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/3 "2024-11-22T16:30:55Z")
It’s some sort of money-laundering scheme, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/4 "2024-11-22T16:31:01Z")
I think your second point is actually closer to the truth than you may think. I believe that what was actually auctioned off was the right for the buyer to tape a banana to a wall and “officially” use the title “Comedian” to refer to it. It’s sort of like buying the right to make a photocopy of an original art piece and refer to it as the original. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/5 "2024-11-22T16:32:31Z")
The most plausible explanation that could account for this that I’ve heard to date. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/6 "2024-11-22T17:34:13Z")
Ever seen [Duchamp’s “Fountain”?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_(Duchamp)) It was a urinal that he decided to call art. And like it or not, he made a good case for it. This was in 1917, which is to say this sort of agita has been going on for a while. I am frankly untroubled by it and even a bit amused. At the far end of the argument, I think it’s fair to say that pieces like Fountain and Comedian succeed as art on some level. We’re talking about them. People feel strongly about them, even if that feeling is disgust or incredulity. They’ve caused people to think. Remember, art doesn’t have to be pretty or attractive. Some of the best art is horrific or causes us to experience conflict. You don’t have to _like_ a piece of art for it to be meaningful. And you’re free to decide it isn’t meaningful, too. But the artist made you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/7 "2024-11-22T17:38:28Z")
That’s a real banana, right? That piece of art is going to be a goopy mess of putrescence in a few weeks. My firm policy is, if I pay $6 million for something, it should last at least a year. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/8 "2024-11-22T18:36:49Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > That piece of art is going to be a goopy mess of putrescence in a few weeks. Okay, now I get it. That $6 million will be a real bargain when the banana is inevitably nominated for a Cabinet position. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/9 "2024-11-22T18:38:37Z")
In the words of Andy Warhol, “Art is what you can get away with.” ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/10 "2024-11-22T18:40:41Z")
The buyer was Justin Sun, crypto entrepreneur. You’re really buying the certificate of authenticity that says you own that conceptual artwork. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/11 "2024-11-22T18:47:51Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > In the words of Andy Warhol, “Art is what you can get away with.” He was right, but the unspoken part is _"in a society with wealth stratification so extreme that the wealthy are simply **out** of opportunities for display._" With extreme stratification, those at the top compete against their few peers to be the most obscene and grotesque in their displays. Status accrues to those who waste most extravagantly (as in the Robber Baron-era practice of lighting one’s cigar with rolled-up hundred dollar bills—in a time when $100 was a huge amount of money). Today’s economy puts the robber-baron era to shame in its level of stratification. And of course it’s moving fast in the direction of larger and larger gaps between the top one percent and the rest of us. TLDR: Waste proves (and provides) status! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/12 "2024-11-22T18:48:48Z")
Somebody said “art for arts sake” Lots of beautiful, artsy things are functional. Architecture, bridges, things that have a purpose. True, really true art doesn’t need to work or function. It just needs to be. I love the silly, joke-y frivolity of the duct taped banana. Yes, it’s gonna be a mess quickly. Who cares, if they got a giggle. Now, 6 million $$ is just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/13 "2024-11-22T18:55:32Z")
But in the words of Calvin & Hobbes, “The problem with being avant-garde is not knowing who’s putting on who.” ---
**Author:** ![J-P\_L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/j-p_l/32/3156_2.png) [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/14 "2024-11-22T18:59:59Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Perhaps the buyer thinks they can sell it for more money in 20 year, so they aren’t getting ripped off by some artist. At that time, it probably won’t be the original banana, would that make it a forgery? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/15 "2024-11-22T19:02:17Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > It’s some sort of money-laundering scheme, isn’t it? That, or conspicuous consumption at the billionaire level. Some people basically want to brag, “I’m so rich I can drop millions on pointless shit, while you peasants are starving.” It might also impress some of the smaller, less dominant billionaires. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/16 "2024-11-22T19:04:03Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Some people basically want to brag, “I’m so rich I can drop millions on pointless shit, while you peasants are starving.” Cf. “I Am Rich” > **[I Am Rich](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Rich)** > > I Am Rich is a 2008 mobile app for iPhones which had minimal function and was priced at US$999.99 (equivalent to $1,415 in 2023). The app was pulled from the App Store less than 24 hours after its launch. Receiving poor reviews from critics, only eight copies were sold. In the years since, several similar applications have been released at lower prices. > I Am Rich was developed as a joke by German software developer, Armin Heinrich, after he saw iPhone users complaining about software pric... ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/17 "2024-11-22T19:08:04Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Cf. “I Am Rich”. " I deserv _(sic)_ it" If I was rich, I’d buy it just for the typo! That’s some quality art! ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/18 "2024-11-22T19:15:52Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > That’s a real banana, right? That piece of art is going to be a goopy mess of putrescence in a few weeks. Oh, no. It can replaced as needed. Or not. In fact this is like the fourth iteration. The original was eaten by a fellow artist. Version 2 and 3 were sold for $120,000 and $140,000. The buyer does not even get the one on display. What he bought is a certificate that enables him to place his own banana and duct duct on a wall of his choice and call it, “Comedian”. Remember, the buyer is a crypto-king so the idea of making value out of nothing is perfectly normal to him.‘’ I should also remind people about Banksy’s famous wall art exhibit that shredded itself (by design) just after the gavel dropped - while it was hanging on the wall of the auction house. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/19 "2024-11-22T19:22:24Z")
Buddy was probably smitten with the idea of a real-world NFT. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616/20 "2024-11-22T19:22:48Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > But in the words of Calvin & Hobbes, “The problem with being avant-garde is not knowing who’s putting on who.” In this case, we know. The artist meant for this to be a “…a satirical jab at market speculation” according to the NY Times article on this. Unfortunately, art is irony-proof. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-six-year-old-kid-sister-art-banana-art/1010616.md?page=2)