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| Deconstruction by Pepe Mar |
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| Comedian by Maurizio Cattalan |
The outre piece at Art Basel this year was a banana duct-taped to the wall and sold for $120,000. The back story claims the artist had been contemplating bananas as symbols of global trade, making them in bronze and in resin before deciding to use a real banana. The buyer seems to be on her own about what to do with a rotten banana on the wall. *
I, of course, had to send a picture of the piece to my philistine younger son, who replied, "I hate modern art". So much for buying one of the other 2 remaining bananas-as-art for his Christmas present. He and I first went to Art Basel as part of our homeschool art co-op. We saw piles of Ai Wei's Sunflower Seeds and pumpkins by Yayoi Kusama. I admit there were also things like a potato-powered clock. His comments then were along the lines of "I could have made that" and "Two million for some paint". I always responded the mom line, "But that artist did, and you didn't." Somehow my love of contemporary art did not stick.
This time, rather than my usual wandering aimlessly, I approached the spectacle as if I were contemplating buying. No free-standing sculptures, no pieces needing electricity, no op art or blurry pieces that make my head swoon. Still too much to look at. I understand why serious buyers bring agents to help them. I overheard one woman asking her agent how long a piece she could fit in over her buffet. Good thing to know.
I particularly liked a Rothko-ish painting in burgundy tones that was made of pinpoint drops of many, many colors. The artist had a name with an umlaut, but it escapes me. (I wish now I'd taken pictures of name plates.)
Other pieces I liked: coming under the heading of clever were Yoan Capote's landscapes with black lines created by fishhooks pressed into the paint.
Also, a large mosaic of old keyboard keys. There were lots of other collages of found objects (chalk, shells, aluminum), but most of them struck me as craft projects. Guess I don't know art.
And a huge black and white pencil drawing of mangroves with a faint view, in pinks, of a library built in the jungle.
My big find was Hernan Bas' "Distinctly Floridian" series of young men: in a gator park, in an orange grove, looking at flamingos while wearing a shirt with flamingos on it, etc. I loved them. However, I'm a fan of Florida kitsch, so I'm not sure whether I like them as art or my usual love of all things Florida.
By myself, I was able to enjoy looking at pieces for about 2 hours before becoming overwhelmed by too much stimulation.
I stayed a while longer, but I was just glancing as I walked by. Then a ride-share home that took almost as long as my visit. Miami Beach has not figured out how to handle Art Basel traffic.
*01/04/2020 Update: On Saturday of Art Basel weekend, performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana off the wall and ate it. This was lauded as art. Later that day, artist Rodrick Webber scrawled “Epstien (sic) didn’t kill himself,” in red lipstick on the now banana-less wall. Webber was arrested for criminal mischief and has plead not guilty. On his way to jail, Webber asked, “If someone can eat the $120,000 banana and not get arrested, why can’t I write on the wall?” To be decided at his trial.
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| From Capote's Isla Series |
Other pieces I liked: coming under the heading of clever were Yoan Capote's landscapes with black lines created by fishhooks pressed into the paint.
Also, a large mosaic of old keyboard keys. There were lots of other collages of found objects (chalk, shells, aluminum), but most of them struck me as craft projects. Guess I don't know art.
And a huge black and white pencil drawing of mangroves with a faint view, in pinks, of a library built in the jungle.
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| Booth of Hernan Bas Paintings |
By myself, I was able to enjoy looking at pieces for about 2 hours before becoming overwhelmed by too much stimulation.
I stayed a while longer, but I was just glancing as I walked by. Then a ride-share home that took almost as long as my visit. Miami Beach has not figured out how to handle Art Basel traffic.
*01/04/2020 Update: On Saturday of Art Basel weekend, performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana off the wall and ate it. This was lauded as art. Later that day, artist Rodrick Webber scrawled “Epstien (sic) didn’t kill himself,” in red lipstick on the now banana-less wall. Webber was arrested for criminal mischief and has plead not guilty. On his way to jail, Webber asked, “If someone can eat the $120,000 banana and not get arrested, why can’t I write on the wall?” To be decided at his trial.
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