USA: Art world goes bananas - Banana duct-taped to wall sells for $120,000

W/S Banana stuck on a wall with a duct tape
M/S Visitors posing for a photograph with the banana
SOT, Peggy Leboeuf, Perrotin New York Director: "I was here in the office and someone told me that the artist was there. And I saw a lot of people filming, and I was not aware that Maurizio was around. So, I went there, looked at what was happening, and didn't see the banana on the wall. And I realised that the guy was eating the banana. And the banana had some tape around, so I was, like, shocked. So, I reacted to this. I went to talk to him, asking him to go into the office, and we discussed, trying to be diplomatic but also — I mean, we're not supposed to touch pieces, we're not supposed to break pieces, we're not supposed to eat pieces. So, he explained to me that it was a performance for him. And, voila."
W/S Visitors posing for a photograph with the banana
SOT, Visitor: "I came her to see the banana and take pictures. When I arrived to the booth, I saw a lot of people but something weird was going on here, and it was the guy that came, and he was eating the banana. He took the banana from the wall, he removed the tape, and he was eating the banana. And he was repeating all the time — when the police arrived — saying that it was part of his performance. In the same way that the artist put the banana on the wall, he said "I am coming here to eat the banana; that's my performance." And he left, and the police removed him from the fair. And he left without any charges, apparently."
W/S Visitors posing for a photograph with the banana
SCRIPT
Museum-goers at Miami's Art Basel took turns to take picture with the $120,000 (€108,500) banana duct-taped to a wall, on Saturday, shortly before it was eaten by self-proclaimed performance artist David Datuna.
Footage shows the museum-goers queuing and posing beside the banana, along with statements from Perrotin New York Director Peggy Lebeouf and a visitor.
"I went to talk to him, asking him to go into the office, and we discussed, trying to be diplomatic but also — I mean, we're not supposed to touch pieces, we're not supposed to break pieces, we're not supposed to eat pieces. So, he explained to me that it was a performance for him," said Lebeouf.
"He was repeating all the time — when the police arrived — saying that it was part of his performance. In the same way that the artist put the banana on the wall, he said "I am coming here to eat the banana; that's my performance." And he left, and the police removed him from the fair. And he left without any charges, apparently," said the visitor.
The piece - called 'The Comedian' - was created by Maurizio Cattelan, an Italian artist best known for creating 'America', an 18-carat-gold toilet. That crap was stolen from the UK's Blenheim Palace over the summer.
The banana has sparked debate about commercialisation of objects in the art world.