A college student in a Seoul art museum ate a ripe banana that was part of an art installation featuring the fruit taped to a wall. The student explained that he had skipped breakfast and was feeling hungry.
The Leeum Museum of Art, which features both traditional Korean art and contemporary art, had an exhibition called “WE” that included the well-known artwork “Comedian” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.
Noh Huyn-soo, a student at Seoul National University, visited the art showcase on Thursday and decided to have a banana, a well-known potassium-rich snack, while he was there.
The video showed Noh peeling the artwork and enjoying his healthy snack, which had previously been valued at $120,000. The impromptu feast lasted for over a minute.
The museum visitor ate the forbidden fruit, put the peel back on the wall using the artist’s duct tape, and then left in a calm manner.
According to BBC News, when questioned by museum officials about why he ate the artwork that was meant to be consumed, the student explained that he had missed breakfast and was hungry.
Noh had a following interview with the local news outlet KBS where he argued that “damaging a work of modern art could also be artwork.”
“Isn’t it taped there to be eaten?” Noh stated.
Cattelan was not bothered by the destruction of his artwork and even expressed approval towards the visitor who ate it, stating that he had “no problem at all” with it.
The museum curators replace the banana every two days as directed by the artist.
Cattelan’s viral artwork has been eaten before on previous occasions.
In an Instagram post, Datuna made a sassy comment: “I really love this installation. It’s very delicious.” He later claimed that what he did was not vandalism, but instead explained it as a form of performance art.
Theum Museum stated that they won’t hold Noh responsible for eating the banana, which was subsequently replaced with a fresh one.
