Derek Nielsen Photography

On Wednesday, November 20th, 2024, “Comedian” by artist Maurizio Cattelan pulled in a staggering $6,240,000 during an auction at Sotheby’s in New York City. What is the “Comedian”? It is a banana duct-taped to a wall. The new owner of the installation is Chinese crypto investor Justin Sun. “Comedian” made its debut at Art Basel Miami in 2019. With that came a huge range of criticism, love, and, above all, attention.

Photo by Luna Wang on Unsplash

Sun told reporters after the purchase “This is not just an artwork,” Sun said in a statement to Sotheby’s, “it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”

Sun actually purchased the certificate of authenticity, which allows him to reproduce the art installation anytime—you know…because bananas rot. 

The art world has lost its bananas.

Do you find this whole thing ridiculous? That’s okay. It is. But art has no boundaries. Imagination and abstract thought are what separate humans from the rest of the known species in the universe. Cattelan has drawn criticism from many career art historians, who call it a farce and an insult to people who take art seriously. However, I and many others think it’s kind of brilliant. 

Sotheby’s head of contemporary art for the Americas, David Galperin –

“Balancing profound critical thought and subversive wit, this is a defining work for the artist and for our generation,” Galperin said, adding: “If at its core, ‘Comedian’ questions the very notion of the value of art, then putting the work at auction… will be the ultimate realization of its essential conceptual idea — the public will finally have a say in deciding its true value.” (Stephy Chung, CNN)

Where do we go from here?

While the art world will always be difficult to understand, one thing is constant: Art is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Someone turned an 80-cent banana with a $4.95 roll of duct tape and received 6.24 million dollars for permission to tape it to a wall. Andy Warhol once said, “Art is anything you can get away with.” I love this idea as an artist. Let’s continue to push the boundaries just a little further.

When you ask Google, “What is the role of art in society?” Google kicks out.

• Community Building – Art can bring together a group of people in a shared space or rally an entire community of people around a common cause.
• Communication – It can make a statement about society and values or carry secret messages inside.
• Historical Context – Art can help us understand historical periods in time so we can learn about our past.
• Inspiration – Some art sparks the imagination and creativity or unlocks something deep inside us.
• Social Change—Art can be a powerful tool for highlighting injustices, leading to conversation, and hopefully driving change.
• Aesthetic Beauty – Often, art is just aesthetically pleasing. We like to look at it without overly complex meaning.

What if someone produces something that checks all of those boxes?

Conservation Art Making A Splash On The Global Art Scene

Taking the lead from Cattelan, I am releasing a massive 120-inch print of Global Warning for the first time for one dollar over the amount “Comedian” sold for at auction. The sale will make Global Warning the third most expensive photograph ever sold ($6,240,001) behind Man Ray’s, Le Violon d’Ingres ($12,400,000), and Edward Steichen, Flatiron ($11,800,000). 

Global Warning is a testament to the gigaton-size warnings Earth sends to humanity from the poles about the global climate crisis. These warnings are going collectively unheard. If it were instead dropped into New York City, London, or Beijing, it would undoubtedly draw more attention than aimlessly drifting out at sea. At an estimated 280-250 meters thick, only roughly 35 meters (100ft) extend above the water’s edge. The volume of fresh water and the weight of this ice is nearly unimaginable. Humanity needs a wake-up call. Let the collection of this piece show we are ready to have a conversation about the health of our planet. The moment is now. These are our warnings.

Conservation photographer Derek Nielsen promising to donate $1,000,000 to ocean conservation.

I am offering to personally deliver, sign, certify, and install this massive one-of-a-kind Lumachrome high-definition fine art print framed by Roma Moulding to any address worldwide. With that, I will donate $1,000,000 from the sale to 4Ocean, an ocean conservation organization, so they can continue their essential work of removing plastic from our oceans.

After traveling to all seven continents, I know one thing for certain: the earth needs our help. Actually, the earth’s system as a whole will be just fine if we let it recover. The problem is we don’t seem to know how to do that. Fisheries, forests, and endangered species rebound time and time again. Mountain gorillas were on the brink of extinction. Now, over one thousand very protected mountain gorillas are in the wild. The evidence is there.

“Global Warning” will serve as a reminder to the world that just because you can’t see what is happening to the planet doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. This out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality has proven to be dangerous. Notably, there are things like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef happening at an alarming extent. I truly believe if these all happened near population centers, we would collectively be doing more about them.

The ten most expensive art pieces ever sold

Art is one currency of the affluent. Does someone buy a $300 million abstract painting by Kooning because they love the work or want the investment potential, or does it have equal parts ego along with it? The truth is it may be a combination of all three. Other famous pieces, such as the Mona Lisa, are permanently displayed in museums and deemed priceless. Let’s look at the top ten most expensive art pieces ever sold to understand better where the bar has been set for purchasing art.

1. Salvator Mundi (1500) by Leonardo Da Vinci at $400 Million
2. Interchange (1955) by Willem de Kooning for $300 Million
3. The Card Players (1892) by Paul Cézanne for $250 Million
4. Nafea Faa Ipoipo? (1892) by Paul Gauguin at $210 Million
5. Number 17A (1948) by Jackson Pollock at $200 Million
6. The Standard Bearer (1636) by Rembrandt at $197.9 Million
7. The Shot Marilyns (1964) by Andy Warhol for $195 Million
8. No. 6 (Violet, Green, and Red) (1951) by Mark Rothko at $186 Million
9. Wasserschlangen II (1904 – 1907) by Gustav Klimt at $183 Million
10. Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit (1634) by Rembrandt at $ 180 Million

The Comedian may inspire an artistic revolution.

The Comedian may not get the last laugh, but it may start a shift in the way we appreciate art. Numerous sources, including the United Nations, Ipsos, Development Aide, and The World Economic Forum, all rank climate change as the top concern globally, if not the top at least in the top three. I am baffled how so many people still aren’t taking climate change seriously. Climate change is one thing we are all going to be impacted by in our lifetime directly or indirectly. In a survey taken at the World Economic Forum, In a 10-year context, climate-related risks contribute 5 of the top 10 threats as the world nears or crosses “climate tipping points”. Conservation and climate art may provide the visual validation that leads to real action for topics people tend to ignore.

Your art collection says a lot about you.

When Justin Sun purchased Comedian, he saw a connection between culture, art, and his business of cryptocurrency. He invested in a movement. He got a $6.24 million art piece and equally that value in free press. Every major press outlet wrote about his purchase, and most mentioned his cryptocurrency company. Something about the Comedian resonated with him. Take a look around your own home and see what your art says about you. Is it full of art from your travels? Maybe it is full of beautiful landscapes that let you dream about faraway places? Make a statement with your art. Let it be an extension of your identity.

Want to change the world? Do something crazy.

When the idea of selling an art piece for $6,240,000 crossed my mind, even I thought I was crazy. However, after writing this article, I no longer feel that way. Maybe even what the world needs. When I stand at the boundary where glaciers meet the ocean, imagining where they once reached the problem seems insurmountable. When I think of the amount of forest being logged for food production around the globe, that problem seems insurmountable. Asking $6.24 million and one dollar for a beautiful massive piece of contemporary conservation photography to raise awareness for the global climate crisis when other art pieces are selling for $200…$300…$400 million plus dollars. Suddenly my crazy idea feels like the right thing to do. Maybe, just maybe, my idea isn’t bananas after all.