Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, a banana taped to a wall, serves as a provocative commentary on the value and definition of art.
“Cattelan is one of the greatest contemporary artists. A person who has faced death possesses a different kind of artistic inspiration. The artwork Comedian expresses people’s longing for freedom. In fact, each of us is like that banana, bound by tape. Freedom is my motivation for building the #Ban community.” – Bruce J (@BTCBruce1)
The work transforms a common object into high-value art, challenging audiences to consider if the concept, rather than the object itself, defines artistic worth. By including a certificate of authenticity that allows the banana to be replaced, Cattelan emphasizes the fleeting, conceptual nature of art, questioning materialism and the art market’s often arbitrary pricing. Comedian ultimately invites viewers to rethink what constitutes art, its permanence, and its role in contemporary culture.
Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, a conceptual artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall, is set to be auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York on November 20, 2024, with an estimated value between $1 million and $1.5 million.
This piece, which debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019 and sold for $120,000 per edition, has sparked significant interest among cryptocurrency investors. Notable figures such as Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) and Bruce J (@BTCBruce1) have expressed interest in the auction, with Bruce confirming his attendance. This convergence of contemporary art and digital currency investment highlights the evolving dynamics of the art market.
The Birth of BAN meme
On 25th Oct 2024, the BAN meme project, founded in the U.S., is reportedly created by Michael Bouhanna, the Vice President of Sotheby’s—the world’s most prestigious auction house, renowned for its clientele of global elites and royalty.
However, it was an experiment and casual project by him, didn’t mean to go viral and relate it to his work. Here is the original tweet
9 days ago I launched a token called BAN on the Pump. Fun platform as a spontaneous project and a personal hobby completely unrelated to my role at Sotheby’s. (Sotheby’s has no affiliation whatsoever with the token.) I had no expectations for it to gain the level of attention it did, and its rapid growth was unexpected, driven solely by the community without any intervention from me.
Impressively, on launch day, the project sent its own tokens directly to a burn address.
Recently, a tweet suggested that I made $1 million in profit, which is completely false. The wallet in question does not belong to me, and most of this amount was unrealized value. It is also publicly visible on-chain that I burnt 3.7% of the supply I held in my creator wallet. https://solscan.io/tx/3uAktWVxxmVXkABXnwShmhVvTvF6i7fRAte8pasxSmu71w45uDgqxS5ye1JXvLv9JZvpBFKjuE2zQhWW49BRtEgY
For more statements from Michael, please check out this tweet
$BAN CA (Solana)： 9PR7nCP9DpcUotnDPVLUBUZKu5WAYkwrCUx9wDnSpump
Comedian BAN on Dex Screener
https://dexscreener.com/solana/dmasjxoceol5vtkzbyptpxpo7mkm16fmfnmm3pjfiuha
New Meme Narrative
Just three days after its creation, Ban was reported by mainstream media worldwide. Ban has a new narrative in the meme: $Ban focuses on RWA (Real World Assets on-chain). With each major market cycle, a new concept emerges and ignites the market.
Past concepts like DeFi and NFTs have already had their moment, and it’s unlikely the market will revisit them. Looking at today’s trends, RWA remains one of the few untouched avenues—until now, with Ban entering the scene. References from Bruce’s tweet
RWA Hope for Web3
RWA, or Real World Assets on-chain, is a concept in blockchain technology that involves bringing real-world assets – such as arts, real estate, commodities, stocks, bonds, or even intellectual property – onto the blockchain.
The goal is to represent these assets as digital tokens, allowing them to be traded, managed, and transferred like cryptocurrencies. This can create new opportunities for asset liquidity, transparency, and accessibility.
Developers are on the cutting edge, pushing the boundaries to bring revolutionary use cases to blockchain! For a decade, blockchain’s biggest impact has been in value store and exchange – powering speculation, trading, asset issuance, and investment. But now, the possibilities are expanding beyond imagination!
With its innate ability to securely store assets and supercharge transactions and liquidity, blockchain is perfectly suited to host real-world assets. Imagine a world where blockchain solves longstanding challenges around liquidity, ownership, transparency and accessibility, making previously out-of-reach investments available to everyone.
The future of finance is here, and real-world assets on blockchain are leading the charge, set to transform global markets! BAN is at the forefront, championing RWA in a fair and inclusive meme-driven culture.
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Free the Bananas!