Buyer Eats Banana as Banana Seller Bemoans $6.2M Art Sale

Chinese-born Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur, Justin Sun, who paid $6.2 million for a piece of art that amounted to a banana being duct taped to a wall, followed through on his promise to eat the fruit, which he did during a news conference in Hong Kong. Mr. Sun used the occasion to draw parallels between the artwork and cryptocurrency along with the importance of the press conference.

“Eating it at a press conference can also become part of the art work’s history,” stated Mr. Sun. “It’s much better than other bananas I’ve eaten.”

The fact is, the banana, in this case regarded as high art, is regularly replaced before exhibitions, with Mr. Sun buying the right to display the installation along with an instructional guide on how to replace the fruit. It has been eaten twice before, first by a performance artist in 2019 and again by a South Korean student in 2023, but neither paid any money to do so.

The New York Times reported a fresh banana was bought for 35 cents at a stand in front of Sotheby’s Auction House on the day of the auction.     

But the NYC fruit vendor who sold the ordinary banana that was eventually duct-taped to a wall and sold for $6.2 million was reportedly devastated to learn he was made the butt of the joke.

Shah Alam, a 74-year old fruit seller who works a sidewalk stand outside of Sotheby’s on the Upper East Side, and is paid $12 an hour, sold the piece of fruit for 35 cents that became part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s absurdist work titled “Comedian.” 

Experts in the know believe the work of art “Comedian” is meant to offer a commentary on the ridiculousness of the art world, with its meaning tied to the money and fans it attracts. 

“The higher the price, the more it reflects its original concept,” Cattalan wrote to the New York Times. 

But Mr. Alam is not laughing. The nearly blind Bangladesh immigrant, who doesn’t speak much English, had no idea his 35-cent banana was resold at such an eye-popping price until a Times reporter sought him out and informed him.

“I am a poor man,” Mr Alam told the reporter, his eyes teared up as his voice broke. “I have never had this kind of money. I have never seen this kind of money.”

The fruit seller, a widower, moved from Dhaka, where he was a civil servant, to the U.S, in 2007 to be near his adult daughter who lives on Long Island. He pays $500 a month to live in a basement apartment with five other men in the Bronx. He works at the stand four days a week, no matter the weather.

He didn’t quite get the deep artistic concept of the “Comedian” but felt like the joke came at his expense.

“Those who bought it, what kind of people are they?” He asked the reporter. “Do they not know what a banana is?”

Cattalan, who was not compensated for the Sotheby’s sale, said he felt for the vendor but did not offer to help him.

“The reaction of the banana vendor moves me deeply, underscoring how art can resonate in unexpected and profound ways,” Mr. Cattalan said.”However, art. by its nature, does not solve problems - if it did, it would be politics.”

Justin Sun, the new owner of “Comedian,” whose net worth is estimated to be $1.4 billion, meanwhile offered to pay Alam for more of the yellow fruit. 

“To thank Mr. Shah Alam, I’ve decided to buy 100,000 bananas from his stand in New York’s Upper East Side,” announced Mr. Sun. “These bananas will be distributed free worldwide through his stand.”

Mr. Sun, who lives in China, did not say how he plans to buy and distribute the bananas but said that a valid ID will be needed to claim a free one. It’s also unclear whether Alam’s tiny neighborhood fruit stand has the supply for such a large purchase. 

“Mr. Alam’s contribution to this extraordinary artwork is indispensable, highlighting the boundless possibilities and value hidden in everyday life,” Mr. Sun declared. “I hope this initiative will bring his story to a broader audience and, one day, I look forward to visiting his fruit stand in person to express my gratitude again.” 

Mr. Alam’s rather typical immigrant-moved-to-NYC story didn’t stop with the billionaire’s sentiments. An anonymous New Yorker launched a GoFundMe for the fruit seller and promised to match the first $5,000 raised.

“Do we really want to live in a city where we can shrug off a street vendor who’s moved to tears by the fact that he’s been made the butt of a joke involving an amount of wealth obscene to him, while celebrating some smartass for figuring out how to make $6 million from that joke? If this utter and gross indifference isn’t what ails us, what is?” stated the fundraiser who only listed their initials as “JS” wrote in the GoFundMe description.

The campaign has raised more than $8,600 so far.

“I will walk to the fruit stand myself after Thanksgiving and take a video of me handing him the money myself,” JS wrote. “If I don’t find him, GoFundMe will return your money.”

     The St. Croix Times advice to JS in the matter is: Bring cash. No checks.