Viewers quickly pulled their cameras out as artist, David Datuna, reached for a banana duct-taped to an art exhibit’s wall. Datuna ripped the tape off and did the unthinkable. Was he going to steal this piece of art?

Nope — he ate it. He ate a $120K banana entitled “Comedian.” The piece lived up to its name. It was more comedy than art.

Datuna, in fact, is a performing artist. He called his rendition, “Hungry Artist,” which was captioned, “It’s very delicious,” on his Instagram page.

As a result, Datuna was quickly escorted out of the exhibit, with no repercussions at all. In fact, the whole incident was taken as a joke, an unusual occurrence these days.

For 422 mg of potassium and some duct-tape, Maurizio Cattelan’s banana was worth $120K, a bit excessive to say the least. Perhaps the artist should include the wall to justify the lofty price tag, right?

In the modern art world, abstract art can sell for millions, making the banana seem a bit less outrageous. For example, a simple blue and yellow piece recently sold for $46.5 million. However, it did have one impressive feature, its 8-foot tall canvas.

The banana didn’t seem to have any unique features. You could count its slightly rotting spots which complimented the abstract-ness of the piece. But other than that, it was much ado about nothing.

The piece, completely ordinary in the minds of most, sparked conversation about the definition of abstract art. 

Abstract art doesn’t showcase a particularly real scene or picture, but instead uses shapes, colors, etc. to achieve its purpose of perceived randomness. Many who are familiar with the concept find it over-valued.

“It takes no effort and it shouldn’t be worth that much. Artists can find a way to make a piece valued a lot when its actually not and takes basically no effort, after all, [with the banana incident] it was just taping fruit onto a wall,” seventh-grader Ryan J. said, 

Abstract art’s simplicity illustrates how less is more. If a donut, taped to a paper plate, stuck to a wall were sold for $100k, people would immediately argue that they could do the same and easily earn a couple thousand dollars for themselves. If it’s something everyone can do, is it really worth that much? Is it even art at all?

On the other hand, abstract art promotes the idea that there isn’t a single definition of “art.” Anyone can make anything, whether pleasing to the eye or not, and label it as art. You don’t have to master realistic methods of painting or sketching to be an artist. 

“Honestly, I could just duct tape an apple to a face…and guess what? It’s a million dollars!” said seventh-grader Riley V. 

Additionally, the viewer can create her own interpretation to the piece. In fact, the banana which seemed pointless to most, had a meaning further than what may have met the eye. According to art dealer Emmanual Perrotin, “[Bananas are] a symbol of global trade.”

Artists create out of passion, not for fame nor money, so the value set for abstract art may defeat the initial intent in making it at all.

Abstract art should differ from what people consider normal. But there’s a fine line between a banana duct-taped to a wall and a $120k price tag. Even if the piece was intended to be a lighthearted joke, abstract art like this should never be valued so high.