A piece of art called “Comedian” was recently sold for a high price. It was made by an artist named Maurizio Cattelan. The artwork is a single banana taped to a wall. It was sold for about $6.2 million at an auction in New York.
The auction company, Sotheby’s, had first thought the art would sell for between $1 million and $1.5 million. But a Chinese businessman called Justin Sun bought it for much more. Mr. Sun works with cryptocurrency, a type of digital money.
Mr. Sun didn’t just buy the artwork because he liked it. He also said it represents a cultural trend that is happening right now. This trend is about art, funny images on the internet called memes, and cryptocurrency.
The “Comedian” artwork first became popular in 2019. It was shown at an art festival in Miami, and three copies were sold for a lot of money. Some people even ate the banana off the wall as a joke. However, the banana was quickly replaced each time.
Now, the man who bought the “Comedian” artwork is planning to eat the banana. This story shows how sometimes art can be very unusual and still be very valuable.
Vocabulary List:
- Artwork /ˈɑːrt.wɝːk/ (noun): A visual work of art such as painting sculpture or installation.
- Auction /ˈɔːk.ʃən/ (noun): A public sale in which goods or property are sold to the highest bidder.
- Trend /trɛnd/ (noun): A general direction in which something is developing or changing.
- Represents /ˌrɛp.rɪˈzɛnts/ (verb): To serve as a symbol or embodiment of something.
- Cultural /ˈkʌl.tʃər.əl/ (adjective): Relating to the ideas customs and social behavior of a society.
- Unusual /ʌnˈjuː.ʒu.əl/ (adjective): Remarkably different from the norm; not common or typical.
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