The truth of the lie

Banana or Nano Banana?

Some signals travel fast. Meaning tends to travel far. But what does it really mean to be an artist or to be a trickster?

Well, the first thought that comes to my mind when I think about a banana is a monkey.

Who was the unfortunate soul who bought an occurrence only to attract spotlights? As well as all the contemporary art coryphaei who exalt the same thing, "The Emperor's New Clothes", incapable of admitting error, exactly like a bunch of tamed circus monkeys ready to validate a mock.

comedian, maurizio cattelan, 2024

I admit that Cattelan’s stratagem was a complete success. No matter the position anyone took regarding his “banana” —and that applies as a Mexican albur too— the disturbance he created through his global artistic prestige was enough to accomplish a fundamental advertising and propaganda principle of mine: they can love you or hate you, but never ignore you.

I won’t dare answer this for you, but what if tomorrow he publicly, with massive media coverage, defecates on a Gauguin and repaints it with his own hands? Who would be brave enough to pay fifty million dollars for that?

And worse, who would defend it with a curator's statement proclaiming it the new “banana” taped to a wall?

I’m sorry, but I needed to put things in their proper context.

If you had that kind of money, would you buy it?

Food for thought!

Or a banana, at least.

The truth of the lie.