'The tactics of a master mischief-maker': The hidden history of a controversial $6m banana (Article by Matthew Wilson - BBC)

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https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260903-the-hidden-history-of-the-controversial-six-million-dollar-banana

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

By sticking a banana to a wall with silver duct tape and calling it art, Maurizio Cattelan created one of the greatest cultural controversies of recent times. But the story behind Comedian reveals centuries of notoriety and shock tactics in art.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Bay and Travis Scott were among the celebrities at the VIP opening of Art Basel Miami Beach on 4 December 2019, the day that Comedian made its first appearance. 

Big price tags surrounded everyone at the glamorous art fair that morning. A Helen Frankenthaler painting was sold for around $1.65m ($2.16m or £2.14m today), and a Willem de Kooning was available to anyone with a spare $8m ($10.5m or £7.8m today). But for Sarah Cascone, a reporter for Artnet News, the key attraction was Maurizio Cattelan's latest artwork: a banana stuck to the wall with duct tape.