World's priciest banana gets eaten in France
A visitor to a French museum bit into a fresh banana worth millions of dollars taped to a wall last week, exhibitors said on Friday, in the latest such consumption of the conceptual artwork.
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.
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".
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Colbert hits back at Trump
Stephen Colbert had an unflinching message for US President Donald Trump in his first broadcast since his "Late Show" was cancelled amid a political firestorm — "the gloves are off." As per AFP, Colbert, who addressed the cancellation of his show by a broadcaster that has been widely accused of seeking to curry favour with Trump for business reasons, came out swinging — telling Trump to "go f*** yourself." The Late Show, a storied US TV franchise dating back to 1993 when it was hosted by David Letterman, will go off the air in May 2026 following a surprise announcement by broadcaster CBS last week. The channel is part of Paramount, which is in the throes of an $8 billion takeover that requires approval by the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission. It pulled the plug three days after Colbert skewered CBS for settling a lawsuit with Trump. He accused it of paying what he termed a "a big fat bribe" of $16 million to the president for what he called "deceptive" editing of an interview with his 2024 election opponent, former vice president Kamala Harris. Trump reveled in the firing of one of his most prolific detractors, posting on his Truth Social platform that "I absolutely love that Colbert was fired." Colbert joked that it had always been his dream starting out as an improv comic in Chicago in the 1980s to have a sitting president celebrate the end of his career. He also disputed the logic of CBS who insisted the cancellation was "purely a financial decision." He said that in an anonymous leak over the weekend, CBS had appeared to suggest his show lost $40 million last year. Colbert joked that he could account for losing $24 million annually — but wasn't to blame for the other $16 million, a reference to CBS News's settlement with Trump. Monday's cold open was an unsparing riff on Trump demanding that the Washington Commanders change its name back to its former name which was widely considered a slur against Native Americans. The segment suggested Trump sought to rename the franchise the "Washington Epsteins", in reference to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein whom it has been widely reported was close to Trump. Colbert returned to this topic after addressing his show's cancellation, proclaiming that they had killed his show but not him, and doing a deep dive on reporting about just how close Trump and Epstein were. It was a formula that would have been familiar to fans of the show: the deadly serious leavened with humor and quick wit. Outside the taping at Midtown Manhattan's Ed Sullivan theater, protesters held placards that said "Colbert Stays! Trump Must Go!" Audience member Elizabeth Kott, a 48-year-old high school teacher, called Colbert's firing "terrible." "It's really awful that it's come to that in this country, where companies feel the need to obey in advance. It's really awful," she told AFP. 'A plague on CBS' Colbert's lead guest on Monday, acclaimed actor Sandra Oh, did not hold back, proclaiming a "plague on CBS and Paramount" — the network on which Colbert's channel is broadcast and its media giant proprietor. Colbert's lip trembled as Oh paid tribute to his work speaking truth to power while staying funny. His other guest, actor Dave Franco, said he had loved Colbert's work in everything from The Daily Show to The Colbert Report and then The Late Show. It was on The Daily Show, under the supervision of comic "anchor" Jon Stewart, that Colbert perfected his alter-ego — a blowhard conservative reporter whose studied ignorance parodied actual right-wing broadcasters night after night. He moved up to a show of his own on the same network, Comedy Central, which was then part of Viacom and today is part of Paramount. Before long he took one of the most coveted chairs in US television — host of the CBS late-night slot. Colbert dropped his arrogant conservative persona and cultivated a reputation as one of the most trusted yet funniest figures on US television. Through the coronavirus pandemic he became a reassuring presence for millions, broadcasting from a spare room in his house and narrating the challenges he faced alongside his wife Evelyn. He also became an arch-critic of Trump, skewering the president for everything from his policies to his fondness for Hannibal Lecter. Skipping a promised question and answer session following the taping of Monday's show, Colbert told his studio audience that "I was nervous coming out here." "I will miss you."
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Michelin-star restaurant becomes plant-based
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, reports Reuters. 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." This development reflects a broader trend in Paris, where Michelin-starred restaurants are reimagining French gastronomy with a focus on plant-based cuisine. 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 EUR420 and lunch costs EUR260. 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.
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Express Tribune
Sparks fly in White House after 'South Park' Trump parody
The White House on Thursday lashed out at the creators of South Park after the bawdy satire skewered Donald Trump in an episode featuring an AI-generated version of the US president crawling naked through a desert, reported AFP. In a no-holds-barred season premiere, the animated Trump character is also seen begging Satan for sex, only to be rebuffed - in part because his penis is too small. The White House was not amused. "The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end — for years they have come after South Park for what they labeled as 'offence' content, but suddenly they are praising the show," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Variety. "Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows." Rogers maintained that the show "hasn't been relevant for over 20 years" and is "hanging on by a thread" in a bid for attention. "President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak," he added. The adult animated series, which frequently touches on hot-button issues in American life, is now in its 27th season and remains one of the world's most valuable TV shows. The season premiere begins with the foul-mouthed Cartman appalled that NPR has been taken off the air by the president, while Randy, a parent, is disturbed by the presence of Jesus in public elementary school. Complaints to the fictional White House receive only a threat from Trump to sue the mountain town of South Park for billions of dollars. Meanwhile, the animated Trump is threatening to bomb Canada "like I did Iraq." "I thought you just bombed Iran," the Canadian prime minister replies. The episode, which sees the fictional Trump ride rough-shod over many aspects of American life, ends after the town of South Park makes a financial deal with the president that includes an agreement to make public service announcements. The AI generated short that follows — ostensibly one of those announcements — shows an overweight Trump staggering through a desert as a narrator casts him as a latter-day Jesus. The short ends with a naked Trump as the narrator says: "Trump. His penis is teeny-tiny, but his love for us is large." Merger The episode aired days after creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone reportedly penned a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount that gives the company global rights. The deal comes at a sensitive time for Paramount, which is trying to secure government approval for a multi-billion-dollar merger with entertainment company Skydance. The CBS parent caused a furor this month when it agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit Trump had brought over an interview the storied "60 Minutes" current affairs program aired with Kamala Harris ahead of last November's election. The payment was criticised by Democrats as little more than a bribe to help smooth the merger, with Paramount initially dismissing Trump's lawsuit as meritless. Last week CBS sparked fury after it cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert whose host is a pointed critic of the president. The network insisted it was a financial decision, but opponents have painted the move as the latest example of American institutions bowing to Trump.
