South Korean art student eats banana art installation taped to wall because...

The banana art and the South Korean student. (Image: @DBking85/Twitter)

A South Korean art student caused a stir at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul after eating a banana that was part of an installation by the Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan. Noh Huyn-soo was caught on video peeling and eating the banana in front of shocked onlookers before reattaching the skin to the wall using duct tape and walking away with a grin.

When asked by the museum why he ate the banana, Noh simply replied that he was hungry after skipping breakfast. However, he later revealed to broadcaster KBS that he saw the act as a form of art, and reattaching the peel was just a joke. He also suggested that the banana was meant to be eaten since it was taped to the wall.

The banana was part of Cattelan’s Comedian installation, which had gained international attention after it was first displayed at the Miami Art Basel in 2019. During the event, a performance artist removed and ate one of the bananas, citing his objection to the high price of the artwork. The banana, which cost only 20 cents, was sold for $120,000 (£95,640) at the event.

Reaction as Student eats artwork of a banana duct-taped to a museum wall because 'he was hungry'

A ripe banana artwork called Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was placed for exhibition at Seoul`s Leeum Museum of Art, but a hungry South Korean student couldn't keep pic.twitter.com/TCOf0B2sWA

— SNOW TV RC 3662284 (@OfficialSnowtv) May 1, 2023

However, this is not the first time Cattelan’s art installations have been the subject of controversy. Last year, his 18-carat gold toilet called America was stolen from its display wall at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Additionally, his middle-finger sculpture known as Il Dito (the finger) was vandalized by environmental activists in Milan earlier this year.

Read: Police break into London gallery to help 'distressed woman'. It was an art installation

While Noh’s act of eating the banana may have been seen by some as a form of artistic expression, it raises important questions about the value and meaning of modern art. Is art only for the wealthy? Is it appropriate to consume or destroy art in the name of art?