A banana duct tape painting by Maurizio Cattelan sold for $5 Million at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction. This is nothing new; we have consistently observed absurd creations labeled as “artworks” selling for exorbitant sums in Western markets. We feel compelled to explore this phenomenon by debunking the “buyer hierarchy” in the Western art market and elaborating on what it means for the African art market as a whole.
Jonathan P. Binstock, the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design Gallery curator, describes the creator of the” Banana on the Duct Tape artwork” as one of the great post-Duchampian artists. Duchampian artists contributed to Dadaism, Cubism, and conceptual art, all of which are linked to classical African abstraction.
Like you, I have often wondered why African artwork, particularly classical and modern antiquities, resides in Western museums as “priceless” items, yet the market value of contemporary African art is not even close to that of Western artworks. This raises my question: why have contemporary African art sales in auction houses over the last decade not come close to the $5 million achieved by the banana and duct tape?
We can blame it on the African art industry’s youth, the lack of infrastructure, or even a closed art market. Yet our artworks remain in Western museums as “priceless,” while this so-called priceless value is absent in today’s society. Here are a few lessons that can summarize this “precious” banana.
These Are Not Our Markets
The Western art market is a “tricky” world. According to Al Jazeera, looted African art was “trophies” for British soldiers in Chibok. Over time, these looted and “claimed” works have been used by influential Western artists such as Pablo Picasso as important references for Contemporary and Modern art movements. African art’s place in Western society is not one of competition, admiration, or understanding—it is more of a power-power trip.
For us, even a simple bow and arrow carries legacies, stories, and deep associations. Yet, when placed in a market that does not resonate with or understand its history and meaning, such art becomes merely a “theory of understanding, its value in the process.
Infrastructure for the Arts and Culture Industry Is Our Future
Paying $5 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall, even as a conceptual statement, seems superfluous. That said, we are encouraged by the work of institutions such as the Modern Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City, which tirelessly strives to establish world-class platforms for preserving West African art and creativity. Moreover, the African Union continues to facilitate conversations on infrastructure and the creative economy. If the $5 million banana teaches us anything, it is this: the Western art industry is so developed that it can sell a $2 banana for $5 million purely on the merit of art.
Do Not Sell a Banana for $6.2 Million!
The banana highlights a glaring flaw in the Western art market. At the same time, it underscores the importance of artists challenging and reshaping these market dynamics. The fact that a $2 banana can sell for $5 million demonstrates how much the value of art is dictated by High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) rather than by cultural or artistic significance. Furthermore, it reveals the permeability of the Western art market, which accommodates everything from AI-generated art to duct-taped fruit. So maybe do not sell a banana for 5 million Dollars.
