that bannana tape art peice

you've all seen/heard of that stupid banana duct tape art piece thing, right? well, its actually titled 'comedian', and its by an italian artist named Maurizio Cattelan. two versions of the sculpture sold for $120,000 a piece at art basel miami beach(the third edition was donated to the guggenheim museum), attracting massive media attention. that probably makes you angry, or at the very least, you think it is ridiculous. i personally think it is a harmful display of extravagant wealth, but i recognize that that is an issue with the buyer and capitalism, not Cattelan. Comedian is a piece of conceptual art and it includes a certificate of authenticity, as well as full schematics and directions for its display. this piece is purposeful and deliberate and specific. art is not always supposed to be pretty to look at, and i think thats important to remember when discussing modern, conceptual, or any non traditional medium. people misjudge non traditional art because it is not initially appealing or it doesn't make sense right away. art is also subjective and supposed to be left up to interpretation, and its kind of crazy how people try so hard to put art in a box when it is such an abstract concept. another good example of this is any of Jackson Pollocks paintings. a lot of the discourse about Pollocks art is that "anyone could make it", or that it "doesn't look like anything", or just plain "it doesn't make sense". which, are all pretty understandable at first glance. but, Pollocks paintings are so unique. they are massive and during their creation were nailed to the floor. Pollock had to physically walk around a room for each addition, each splatter being born from movements of his entire body. not to mention, Pollock was a very mentally ill, alcoholic man, which i think adds depth as well. you've got to think about it with a more open mind than you might want to initially. with 'comedian', i interpreted it as a statement about conceptual and modern art, and its spectators. i think the purpose was to invoke emotion, whether you were laughing at it or angry at it. if you have seen it and thought, "wow, i hate that", it worked! you experienced the art! and whether or not you're happy about that is still apart of it. your perception of an art piece and the way you discuss it and how it shapes your opinions is a direct effect of the art piece, and i think, and extension of it. i doubt comedian is your favorite piece of art. it isn't mine. but to criticize it for "not being art" makes no sense. and the way it blew up on the internet proves this point.