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If you haven't been to an art gallery in the last year you have no place opining on the Maurizio Cattelan imo. 100 years after Duchamp's urinal and the British are still getting their knickers in a twist about wether they could 'do it' or not. Unbelievable

People are just desperate to find something to invest in. Computing has devastated so many industries.

Well, that's obviously in part what drives up the 'value' of such gestures. However, Duchamp's action was very different from the unimaginative routine drive to shock today.

Yes, you can certainly argue about wether it's a good work or not. (I'd argue that it's a product of its time). But the outrage over the price is a reflection of the lack of education and serious engagement in art both on the part of individual and wider media.

But the outrage over the price is a reflection of the lack of education and serious engagement in art both on the part of individual and wider media.

I'm not one of the ones that are outraged by the price, I am certainly baffled over it though. I understand that the value of these sorts of things is subjective (at least I would argue so), but are you able to offer any sort of insight as to why $6 million or so is a valid price for this?

Aside from "because that's what people are willing to pay for it".

I'm asking this genuinely btw, I'm completely in the dark as to how art pieces are priced. But the price point here is genuinely something I don't understand.

And I guess a follow-on point, is there any difference as to how something like this is valued vs those NFT monkey portraits that seemed to take the world by storm a few years back?

I'm neither surprised nor outraged. Slightly bemused that the buyer is now going to eat the banana though

They'll own an edition to the artwork (I think there are 3 currently?) so they can reproduce the artwork at any time and sell the edition on... at which point the new owner can eat/reproduce it as many times as they want to instead.

In general I've just found it quite odd how many people, who I think have a deep and subtle understanding of macroeconomics, have responded [...] without questioning the underlying assumption that our national economy needs to be treated like a household budget i.e., that we need to tax the shit out of everything before investing in anything.

Hold that thought

Lunatic Thatcherite ideology

Perhaps more accurately, privatising everything is justified by a Friedmanite ideology?

Or perhaps more accurately again, Thatcher and Friedman et al were just dominoes lined up by Mont Pelerin Society scum.

Never stops blowing my mind how those dicks basically defined the fluid we swim in. Fucking conformists everywhere.

It's just an investment. It's attracted a lot of attention, hence it's 'valuable'. That may be either in its increasing 'resale' value or because someone has far too much money sloshing around and glories in 'owning' the 'artwork'.

As I understand it, the banana is regularly replaced (helpfully, the artwork includes instructions on how to replace the duct tape and banana) and has been eaten before.

Jesus, I can't believe I actually typed that. What an odd situation.

You can't eat the same banana twice.

Art valuation is one thing, I can't be getting into a philosophy discussion on the same day here!

We're talking about bananas, not philosophy or art. HTFU. Last Post Wins. I know you won't mind me saying this.

Exactly this has been discussed on LBC in the last 10 minutes.

Feels like more of a sundae discussion to be honest

Maybe it's performance art and the real art is the guy replacing the banana and tape every week forever

It's just a typical LFGSS Friday, everybody's going bananas.

Amazing, just listened to it there. Glad I'm not alone in being similarly baffled.

You can't eat the same banana twice.

'my 2 year old could do that'

@Oliver Schick is right, it's just an investment piece that has caught the zeitgeist.

The people who own the other 2 pieces from the edition must be going bananas with the result.

Slightly bemused that the buyer is now going to eat the banana though

This doesn't matter. You're paying for the certificate, not that particular banana. There are loads of such artworks.

You can't eat the same banana twice.

You can but it wouldn't be pleasant either retrieving it or then eating it on 2nd pass.

Tax the rich.

The only thing it proves is reach people have to much damn money.

going bananas

Ner, ner, ner, I got there first. Your second edition isn't worth ... hang on, it's probably still worth zillions.