What’s the actual value of a banana? - Gut feeling
Last week at Sotheby’s, New York City, the world saw another dimension to value. An art installation of a banana duct taped to a wall sold for $6.2million.
The actual cost of a banana is less than a dollar, probably less than 50 cents but a banana valued higher than most homes in the world is still music to the ears of some people.
Italian artist, Maurizio Catellan named his art piece ‘Comedian’ when he launched in 2019. His banana is a joke to many but it has continuously landed him the big bucks.
Justin Sun, a crypto billionaire who bought the banana said he will eat it as an ode to arts and pop culture. And that’s the thing with art, it is boundless. Pop culture has no limited definition also, it is what you make of it.
“This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history. I am honored to be the proud owner of the banana and look forward to it sparking further inspiration and impact for art enthusiasts around the world', Sun said.
Humans are capable of interesting, borderline ridiculous things but it is this limbic expedition — our total desire for pleasure that makes value everything we think it is. The world is of plenty things but the value of every single thing comes from what humans make of them, probably less than their use to men.
The value of food is great, but $6.2 million will feed at least 100 million people. Here, that’s not the purpose it’s meant to serve. It is just human pleasure and perspectives championing the cause of value regardless of its utility.
Like you may think, what happens when the banana gets rotten? The answer is as straightforward as you think. It gets replaced. And that’s what Mr. Sun has bought — shiny instructions on how to replaced a duct-taped banana when it rots.
Castellan’s banana has been eaten many times — of course he knows it will be, but that surprise element — the simplicity of human madness is what tickles the fancy of its buyers. ‘Comedian’ has sold for $120,000 before which is a ridiculous value for a banana and now it’s selling for the value of the finest gold and some of the purest diamonds.
Bananas are not universally accepted. A Swedish Minister doesn’t even want to see anything that tastes, looks, or feels like it. Her team ensures there are no signs of banana or its skin wherever she goes to and the same product has sold for a value the world is going bananas for.
Whatever you make of a product is what it is — time, people and place will create the market and in a world of limbic capitalism, human satisfaction is reaching for the peak of addiction. The world of need and wants is getting broader.
An orange seed may just sell for a value worth many generations and it will be hailed for being an excellent piece of art. It will be human perspective, and the insatiable desire for the ludicrously unbelievable.
And that may be the guide we need to place more emphasis on the stories that make our creations, shape our thoughts, our daily life than the event itself. Tomorrow, find a plywood and nail it on a wall and that will be your art, build a story around it. If it’s at the right place, you may just become a millionaire - in dollars.
Every piece of mindedness you hold is a potential success story and if it’s original thought, it can get the world going bananas again — if well sold.