That’s one Famous Banana
In December of 2019, one banana took the internet by storm. At the Art Basel Miami Beach gallery show, a renowned event where leading galleries and masters in the field of art come together to showcase significant works from all over the world. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s now-famous work Comedian instantly stole the show. The concept of Comedian being a ripened banana duct taped to the wall. This sounds ridiculous but it was ultimately sold for $120,000 twice before the price was raised to $150,000. However, it was not just the banana that gained so much attention. Performance artist David Datuna then took the banana off the wall and ate it. When asked what it tasted like, he commented, “It’s very delicious.” Which I would hope for that price tag. But his actions led to an instant fixation and uproar on social media. The internet was quick to turn this silly concept into countless memes and hilarious interpretations.
The phenomenon of social media has created a business climate in which thousands of marketing and advertising opportunities can be achieved with one creative social media post. However, a very tiny percentage of “trends” ever end up becoming viral, those which do, have a few things in common: Influential People, a Community of Respondents, and a Level of Unexpectedness. In Cattelan’s instance, he was able to stir so much commotion in the media because he was able to cater to each of these factors.
- Influential People — These people are usually called “Influencers” and they introduce their followers or average people to interesting things and help bring these things to the limelight. When they start sharing things on the internet, the process is accelerated and communities start forming around this “phenomenon.” In Cattelan’s case, he presented his work at a major, popular art show, knowing there would already be a lot of media coverage at the event.
- Community of Respondents — These are the groups of communities that are responsible for the rapid spread of content and addition to it. Because of Cattelan’s work in conceptualism and since the movement has already been a big deal for a very long time, puzzling many viewers who stumble upon the work, there was already a community of followers ready to pounce on his work.
- Level of Unexpectedness — In a world that is filled with more content than anyone can ever hope to consume, virality is possible by only those creations which are unique and unexpected. Things which stand out get the attention that is necessary for “going viral.” Without Cattelan knowing it, David Datuna shocked the world after eating his extremely expensive banana, causing the world to lose their minds. These three factors, when equaled together, caused a disturbance in what would have been a very casual day at the galleries. The media took hold of a crazy event and turned it into a phenomenon
In the weeks following Art Basel, Cattelan’s Comedian became an immediate sensation. Companies all across the world began posting their own creative adaptations, replacing the banana with other food items like sausages to pomegranates to Moon Pies. Even Popeye's Chicken got in on the trend, partnering with Miami’s San Paul Gallery of Urban Art, and titling their work, The Sandwich. It was listed at $120,003.99 and even received multiple inquiries about purchasing the work.
One Instagram in particular, named @cattelanbanana, has amassed a cult following of over 18K and is now verified. They post recreations, memes and related images entirely dedicated to the famous banana. There is even an image of a banana covered by a face mask, commenting on our current 2020 pandemic crisis. Social media has allowed this simple and mundane object to explode and become a hot topic in pop culture today. It is because of the intense reportage that ensued after it was sold and eaten, that allowed it to become so much more than just a banana. It has become a culprit of the 21st adversity and social media craze.
It is crazy to imagine how a single banana could capture the attention of the world, but with the help of social media, advertising and plain luck, Cattelan’s Comedian became an immediate sensation. Today the world relies on digital communication, we seek to find interesting, weird, cultivating topics to create content about to share with each other. In the case of Cattelan, he was able to produce a work of art that happened to cater to the ideas of current trend analysis ideas. Essentially, the way the “media” reported about his work enabled it to become so much more than just a banana duct taped to the wall.
