Museum-goer 'hungry' enough to eat $6.2 million banana on display
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan – whose provocative creation entitled "Comedian" was bought for $6.2 million in New York last year – said he was disappointed the person did not also eat the skin and the tape.
After the hungry visitor struck on Saturday last week, "security staff rapidly and calmly intervened," the Pompidou-Metz museum in eastern France said.
The work was "reinstalled within minutes", it added.
"As the fruit is perishable, it is regularly replaced according to instructions from the artist."
Cattelan noted the banana-eater had "confused the fruit for the work of art."
"Instead of eating the banana with its skin and duct tape, the visitor just consumed the fruit," he said.
Cattelan's edible creation has sparked controversy ever since it made its debut at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach.
He has explained the banana work as a commentary on the art market, which he has criticised in the past for being speculative and failing to help artists.
The New York Post said the asking price of $120,000 for "Comedian" in 2019 was evidence that the market was "bananas" and the art world had "gone mad."
It has been eaten before.
Performance artist David Datuna ate "Comedian" in 2019, saying he felt "hungry" while inspecting it at the Miami show.
Chinese-born crypto founder Justin Sun last year forked out $6.2 million for the work, then ate it in front of cameras.
As well as his banana work, Cattelan is also known for producing an 18-carat, fully functioning gold toilet called "America" that was offered to Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.
A British court in March found two men guilty of stealing it during an exhibition in 2020 in the United Kingdom, from an 18th-century stately home that was the birthplace of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.
It was split up into parts and none of the gold was ever recovered - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Three-Michelin-star Paris restaurant Arpege switches to plant-based dishes
View of tables and the decor at Arpege, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant of French chef Alain Passard, which serves an exclusively plant-based menu, in Paris, France, July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS (Reuters) -French chef Alain Passard, known for his mastery of roasting techniques, has decided to drop almost all animal products from the menu at his three-Michelin-star restaurant, Arpege. The decision follows his earlier move to eliminate red meat from Arpege's dishes in the early 2000s. Passard's updated menu excludes meat, fish, and dairy, although honey sourced from the restaurant's own beehives will remain an exception. Passard said he was motivated by his passion for nature, adding that using seasonal vegetables would also reduce the restaurant's environmental impact. Passard, 68, rose to fame for his roasted dishes, including "poulet au foin", or chicken cooked in hay, but has since become a leader in Paris's growing vegetable-based dining scene. "Everything I was able to do with the animal will remain a wonderful memory," Passard told Reuters. "Today, I'm moving more towards a cuisine of emotion, a cuisine that I could describe as artistic. It's closer to painting and sewing... Today I'm a different chef." Arpege is the first restaurant with three Michelin stars in France to move to plant-based food, joining the ranks of Eleven Madison Park in New York, which made a similar transition under chef Daniel Humm. On the menu is a "mosaic" of tomatoes, flamed aubergine with melon confit, and a dish made up of carrot, onion, shallot and cabbage. The priciest set menu costs 420 euros ($493) and lunch costs 260 euros. Some countries have seen consumers turn away from meat in recent years. At the Paris Olympics last year, organisers set out to cut the amount of meat served to athletes and spectators. ($1 = 0.8526 euros) (Reporting by Noemie Olive and Lauren Bacquié, writing by Lauren Bacquié and Elizabeth Howcroft, Editing by Gabriel Stargardter and Louise Heavens)
Hype Malaysia
4 hours ago
- Hype Malaysia
Maje's Qixi 2025 Capsule Collection Marries French Flair With Eastern Romance
We're loving it! Maje has introduced its Qixi 2025 Capsule for the Fall Winter season, a heartfelt tribute to the Chinese Qixi Festival interpreted through the maison's signature French style. This limited-edition collection tells a love story that bridges cultures, blending traditional Eastern symbolism with Parisian refinement. The collection explores a dreamy palette of soft pink and deep black, brought to life with delicate lace, sheer tulle, and exquisite floral embroidery. Inspired by the romance of a Provençal countryside picnic, each piece is filled with natural details like wildflowers and daisies. Every motif is crafted using traditional thread-by-thread embroidery techniques that echo the gentle charm of Southern France. Ethereal tulle skirts stand out with their three-dimensional blooms, capturing the feeling of love in motion. Every silhouette is light, romantic, and artfully composed, reflecting a cross-cultural celebration of emotion, artistry, and timeless beauty. With the Qixi 2025 Capsule, Maje offers more than fashion. It presents a poetic expression of love, where French craftsmanship carries Eastern sentiment through every thoughtful detail. The capsule is now available in Maje boutiques and online.
Sinar Daily
8 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
Japan's Sega eyes return to 1990s gaming glory
TOKYO - The big-screen success of 1990s video game speedster "Sonic the Hedgehog" has brought new fans to Japan's Sega, which says it is poised for a comeback after two tough decades. This year all eyes have been on Nintendo, whose Switch 2 recently became the fastest-selling console in history. Sega President and COO Shuji Utsumi speaks during an interview with AFP at the opening ceremony for the company's first official store in Tokyo's Shibuya district on July 16, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) But unlike its former arch-rival, Sega has not sold gaming hardware since its Dreamcast console was discontinued in 2001, instead focusing on making games for other platforms. Now, as record tourism to Japan helps boost global appetite for the country's pop culture, the company sees a chance to reinvent itself -- including through nostalgic game remakes and movie adaptations like the hit "Sonic" series. Sega opens its first flagship merchandise store in Japan, having launched a similar shop in Shanghai in May. "Opportunities are expanding," chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi told AFP. "We've been struggling... for a while, but now we are coming back." The company aims "to expand our business globally rather than focusing on the Japanese market", he said. Sega was a top industry player in the 1980s and 1990s, its name synonymous with noisy arcades, home consoles and game franchises, such as beat-em-up "Streets of Rage" and ninja series "Shinobi". But it struggled to keep up with intense competition, falling on hard times financially as multiplayer online titles from US publishers, such as "World of Warcraft", took off in the 2000s. 'Persona' movie? After Sega quit the hardware business, its game offerings "got a little stale", said David Cole of the US-based games market research firm DFC Intelligence. But "the kids who grew up in the 1990s are now in their 30s, 40s, even older, and really like those franchises" -- and are introducing them to their own children -- he told AFP. "It's untapped value" that Sega -- just like its Japanese peers including Nintendo -- is trying to capitalise on through new movies, stores and theme park rides, Cole added. Last year, the film "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" starring Jim Carrey as the villain zipped to the top of the North American box office in one of the best December openings in years. It followed the first live-action "Sonic" movie in 2020, as Sega cashes in on a video-game movie craze that saw "The Super Mario Bros. Movie", based on the Nintendo characters, become the second-highest grossing film of 2023. "Shinobi" is also being turned into a film, while Sega's "Yakuza" game series has been adapted for television. When asked if cult franchise "Persona" could be next, Sega's Utsumi said fans should "stay tuned". "We are talking to a lot of interesting potential partners. So we are under some discussions, but I can't say too much about it," he said. Super Game Sega bought Finland's Rovio, creator of "Angry Birds", in 2023, seeking to expand into the mobile gaming market. "Gamers' behaviour has been changing" since Sega's original heyday, going beyond TV-connected consoles, Utsumi said. But Cole said that in the long run Sega should concentrate on "high-end" gaming: larger-scale, more involved titles that encourage brand loyalty. Sega is working on what it calls a "Super Game" with big-budget international ambition and a scope that is "not only just a game -- communication, social, maybe potentially AI", Utsumi said. "The competition in the game market is very fierce," he cautioned. "It's important to really have a fan base close to us. But at the same time, when we develop a great game, it takes time." Sega's parent company Sega Sammy also makes arcade and gambling machines, including those used in Japanese "pachinko" parlours, whose numbers are in decline. That makes Sega's entertainment business "really the growth opportunity for the company", Cole said. Sega Sammy said in May its "Sonic" intellectual property "has contributed to an increase in both game and character licensing revenue". Young tourists in Tokyo shopping near Sega's new store ahead of the opening seemed to confirm this. "I've always liked Sega. I kind of grew up around their games," said 19-year-old American Danny Villasenor. "They're pretty retro. But I think they've evolved with time pretty well." William Harrington, 24, who lives in Los Angeles, said his father "put me on to a lot of the older games back in the day", and so to him, Sega "feels like childhood". - AFP
