The Absurdity of a Banana and the Humor of Capital: A Reflection on Comedian
Abstract
This article explores Maurizio Cattelans Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall, as a profound critique of contemporary art and
its entanglement with capital. Drawing comparisons to Marcel Duchamps Fountain, the piece highlights how symbolic value and market
forces redefine artistic meaning. Unlike Duchamps permanent and reproducible urinal, Comedian is transient, with its banana and duct tape
requiring replacement, symbolizing the impermanence of value and the wastefulness of consumer culture. The works absurdity lies not in its
materials but in the social and economic structures it exposes. By analyzing its visual psychology and socio-cultural implications, this article
examines how Comedian challenges the audience to confront their complicity in systems of power and commodification, ultimately reflecting
on the transient and replaceable nature of individual existence in a consumer-driven society.
its entanglement with capital. Drawing comparisons to Marcel Duchamps Fountain, the piece highlights how symbolic value and market
forces redefine artistic meaning. Unlike Duchamps permanent and reproducible urinal, Comedian is transient, with its banana and duct tape
requiring replacement, symbolizing the impermanence of value and the wastefulness of consumer culture. The works absurdity lies not in its
materials but in the social and economic structures it exposes. By analyzing its visual psychology and socio-cultural implications, this article
examines how Comedian challenges the audience to confront their complicity in systems of power and commodification, ultimately reflecting
on the transient and replaceable nature of individual existence in a consumer-driven society.
Keywords
Visual Psychology; Symbolism; Contemporary Art; Commodification; Audience Interpretation
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PDFReferences
[1] Duchamp, M., & Naumann, F. (1989). The recurrent, haunting ghost of the urinal: A case for Fountain as a work of art. Artforum International.
[2] Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Robinson, R. E. (1990). The art of seeing: An interpretation of the aesthetic encounter. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 48(1), 3145. https://doi.org/10.2307/431555
[3] Berger, J. (1972). Ways of seeing. London: Penguin Books.
[4] Han, B. C. (2017). The burnout society (E. Butler, Trans.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. (Original work published 2010)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/rcha.v2i11.5990
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