Banana from conceptual art piece stolen; French museum files criminal complaint

A museum in eastern France reported to the police today that a banana, the core of a multi-million dollar artwork created by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been stolen. According to AFP, the provocative banana, taped to a wall, is part of Cattelan's famous work titled 'Comedian.' Museum guards noticed the banana was missing yesterday. The Centre Pompidou-Metz issued a statement saying it had filed a criminal complaint for theft against an unidentified person. The museum also noted that the stolen banana had already been replaced. This conceptual piece centers on the banana, which is replaced every three days because it is fresh fruit and would otherwise rot and turn black. It has been vandalized multiple times in the past. Last July, a visitor ate the banana on the spot, but guards intervened quickly and replaced it. Cattelan expressed disappointment at the time that the visitor only ate the banana and did not swallow the tape as well. However, the museum did not file a complaint for that incident. This time, because the perpetrator is unidentified, the museum decided to file a criminal complaint, emphasizing that there is 'no possibility of dialogue.' The museum pointed out that this is the second time such an incident has occurred, suggesting it involves the issue of respecting the artwork. Cattelan's work aims to question the concepts and value of art, and it has been a constant topic of conversation since it debuted at Art Basel in Miami Beach, Florida, in 2019, where it sold for $120,000. Performance artist David Datuna ate 'Comedian' at that 2019 exhibition, saying he was 'hungry.' However, the value of the work has since skyrocketed. Justin Sun, a China-born cryptocurrency founder, purchased a version of the work for $5.2 million in 2024 and ate it on camera a few days later.