Commentary on the 120K banana from Brooke Shields

[nilram]

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And badjakegif...

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[Beakybird]

1. When the paparazzi get there, she's going to peel.

[nilram]

2. lol

[smirkymonkey]

3. I still can't really believe this was a thing.

Sometimes, I really feel like I am living in the Twilight Zone. Nothing makes sense to me anymore.

[greenjar_01]

5. Yes

The person who got all of the America talking about the nature of aesthetic production and generated more conversation about art than any other artists at Art Basel, and generated a million memes and imitators to boot is a real dummy who doesn't know anything about contemporary aesthetics.

Art Basel Miami is one of the premier visual art events in contemporary America. Name one other piece from this year's Art Basel? Hahaha, what a maroon, right?

I mean, in some sense it was a repeat of Duchamp's "Fountain," but that was focused on the nature of institutions. The banana piece is focused on consumption and social media replication, and it made all the predictable people hop in their predictable ways. Hahah, what a dummy!

[Cartoonist]

8. You forgot the sarcasm smilie

You can't be serious. Sure everyone is talking. They're talking about how incredibly stupid art can be. This is nothing to be proud of.

As for no other pieces being talked about, that is proof positive of how unimportant and bereft of interest Art Basel is.

[elias7]

9. Duchamp Mannerism, maybe

The reason the piece became a meme is because 1) someone paid $120,000 for a certificate of authenticity for a concept - a replaceable banana and duct tape, and 2) a performance artist ate it (spontaneous act or not?). The artistic statement of contemporary aesthetics may have been contrived or accidental, but it required a buyer, the commissioning of a performance artist, and some well placed pieces in the media to garner attention. The appeal being how absurd it is that our society has such income inequality that someone can drop two times the median income on a perishable phallic symbol that has now been manipulated into a meme, as if we don’t experience enough manipulation now.

Cattelan may have been effective in the ways you claim, but it just depresses me more when I see how people are so easily manipulated. In the era of Trump, it just doesn’t work anymore to joke about it or even point it out, because that is no longer effective. The art that is needed now is that which will save us from ourselves, not laugh at us.

[crickets]

12. Thank for expressing this so cogently and eloquently. nt

[yonder]

14. +1.

[LanternWaste]

13. Though predicable, I dig the way you hop too.

[Pachamama]

4. That's really funny - I love her sense of humor...

She is also still incredibly beautiful

[Deb]

6. Her new facial peel product line "RipOff"

Can't wait for the infomercial

[nilram]

7. facial peel _and_ hair mousse!

haha

[Buns_of_Fire]

15. But are they also a floor wax and dessert topping? nt

[dameatball]

10. It's cheaper than the Gwyneth Paltrow model and also 100% biodegradeable

[JHB]

11. Love the comments

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[UTUSN]

16. K&R she's at another level!1

[Tipperary]

17. Somehow I missed this and have no idea what it is.

I think I can be thankful for that.