Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960, Italy)
Comedian, 2019

Cattelan has reportedly spent a year making this piece. First versions were supposedly in bronze and resin…

I spent a few months making “Find The Art Piece” – acquiring props, painting a painting, producing a soundtrack – just to gradually peel each physical element off (the soundtrack being removed the day before the presentation) until only a challenge to find my artwork in the room remained. A process where a lot of ideas and/or objects are generated and then gradually eliminated until only the essence of the piece remains is perhaps the most interesting and rewarding for me.

A minimal gesture tends also to enable maximal richness of possible interpretations. E.g. Cattelan’s Comedian was interpreted as a joke, a commentary on international trade, an illegal securities transaction etc.

I also appreciate a good wit, a clever provocation that provokes not only a reaction, but also new insights and new directions for thoughts. Something that gets the audience to stop and think, trying to make sense of what they are encountering – “what is this?”, “how is this possible?”, “what does it say about something?”, “what is appropriate reaction to this?”…

What made it possible to sell Comedian – a duct-taped fresh banana – for $120,000? Clearly, the institutional structure and established artist’s and gallerists brandname. On various levels this may be related to my “Discerning Art Money” – AUD 100 that I sold for AUD 130 at art auction after providing evidence that this piece has been exhibited in three national galleries in Australia.