Artist Maurizio Cattelan's work "Comedian", composed of a piece of duct tape and a banana affixed to the wall, was auctioned off at Sotheby's in New York, and was won by TRON founder Justin Sun for $6.2 million.
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ToggleJustin Sun Buys 'Comediatan' for $6.2 Million
Justin Sun confirmed the news on X, successfully acquiring Maurizio Cattelan's representative work 'Comediatan' for $6.2 million, stating that this is not just an artwork, but also represents a cultural phenomenon.
Justin Sun believes that this event will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history. He is honored to become the proud owner of the banana and will personally eat the banana in the coming days to commemorate its place in art history and pop culture, and looks forward to bringing more inspiration and influence to art lovers around the world.
Considering Payment in TRX
In an interview with Bloomberg after the auction, Justin Sun said he is considering paying with his own cryptocurrency TRON (TRX), as this was the only lot at the Sotheby's auction that accepted cryptocurrency payments.
Justin Sun said he has purchased many artworks, such as Picasso, Andy Warhol and sculptor Alberto Giacometti.
A month ago, I discovered 'Comediatan', and I like the creativity, which resonates with our decentralized ideas in the crypto world, as this is a conceptual artwork - you can't destroy the artwork itself.
Banana is Easy to Carry, Willing to Lend to Musk for Mars
Justin Sun plans to display the work in his Hong Kong apartment, but unlike his paintings and sculptures, Justin Sun said, "It's very easy to carry around - that's the beauty of it." He is also willing to lend the work to any participant in the industry who wants to seriously exhibit the artwork.
If Musk wants it, I'll let him put it on the spaceship to Mars. Banana to Mars!
Duct Tape Banana Becomes a Meme
The work first appeared at the Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, immediately causing a sensation, with more and more onlookers, forcing the gallery to dismantle it to control the crowd. All three versions of this edition were sold for $120,000 to $150,000. One was donated to the Guggenheim Museum, and the other two remain in private collections.
In late October, Sotheby's vice president Michael Bouhanna was found to have created a token called Comedian(BAN) at his personal address, which went viral on Twitter, with the token reaching a market cap of up to $100 million, but after he deleted the post with the public address, the token crashed 80% in a short time. Later, the duct tape banana became a world-famous meme, appearing on the front page of the New York Post, and spawning hats, replicas and other merchandise.
