Justin Sun eats the banana from the artwork "Comedian" that he bought for $6.24 million

On November 29, Justin Sun ate the banana from his work "Comedian" which he bought at Sotheby's at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, and said it was "much tastier than other bananas". Justin Sun shared the auction process on site: "As a conceptual art, the banana has received a lot of attention, spanning different languages ​​and circles. Even ChatGPT praised it highly, calling it the most well-known 21st century phenomenon-level art... Earlier, I didn't have a deep understanding of the work, I just thought it was interesting, and I was curious whether the banana had preservatives and why it could be stored for 5 years without going bad; I studied history at Peking University. With the development of art history, art has transitioned from David and Mona Lisa to postmodernism... Before participating in the auction, I didn't have much confidence. I estimated it at 2 to 5 million US dollars. I learned that there were 7 bidders... I couldn't believe it in the first 10 seconds after the auction. I came with the mentality of joining in the fun. It felt unreal but also very happy; in the second 10 seconds, I received an invitation from a colleague to a media interview, and realized that the banana would become a big event; in the third 10 seconds, I decided to eat it. The story itself constitutes a work of art. Bananas are memes and IPs, which are quite meaningful in history." November 21 On the 28th, at Sotheby's New York's "NOW Contemporary Art Evening Auction", Maurizio Cattelan's work "Comedian" created with bananas and tape was sold for $6.24 million after 32 bids. Immediately, Justin Sun posted a message on X, claiming to be the buyer of Cattelan's banana and announced that "he would eat this banana in a few days." Justin Sun said: "This is not just a work of art, it represents a cultural phenomenon that connects the worlds of art, meme and cryptocurrency communities. I believe this work will inspire more thinking and discussion in the future and become part of history." "Comedian" debuted at the Miami Basel Art Fair in 2019, was priced at $150,000, and was quickly purchased by collectors. There are 3 versions of this work, one of which is collected by the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and each "work" has a corresponding collection certificate. Collectors who buy it can replace the banana according to their preferences after taking it home. Odaily Comment: Compared with the "Fountain" of a hundred years ago - Note: "Fountain" in the "readymades" series by French artist Marcel Duchamp, a urinal placed upside down on a base, signed R.Mutt, was first exhibited at the New York Society of Independent Artists in 1917. It is considered to subvert traditional art forms and become an important footnote of contemporary art by eliminating seriousness and creative thresholds - "Comedian", which consists of a banana, a bundle of tape, a work installation manual, and an authentic collection certificate, is more like the "Ship of Theseus". If "Comedian" is extending the discussion of "matter and existence, identity and essence", then Sun Yuchen's live broadcast of eating bananas is based on today's Meme culture, further "using communication to amplify art and using behavior to raise value".