Can you tell me the story of when you first heard about the banana?

Okay, so my beginnings with the banana was the opening day of Arbazle, Miami Beach in 2019.

That's our colleague Kelly Crowe, who covers the art market.

Art Basel, Miami is a big high-end art fair that happens every December.

Kelly was there walking around, checking out the sculptures and paintings.

And then...

I did see this banana duct taped to a wall, and I saw a little half circle of people I call, you know,

little look you lose, just taking pictures of it. And they were not the types to buy the work.

They were just having fun and posing and taking selfies with it. And I remember in that

moment like, oh, isn't that cute? But I logged it,

and then I moved on. So you didn't, you didn't get a selfie with the banana? I didn't,

I didn't get my selfie. Back in 2019, when it first showed up at Art Basel, Kelly and others in the art world were somewhat dismissive of the banana, which was listed for sale at $120,000.

It seemed just like another quirky piece of contemporary art. She didn't think it would be that big of a deal.

And we totally missed the point, which is that the entire rest of the art world

thinks that the art world is an entire, you know, rigged a game and a scam and a joke. And did the

emperor like even wear clothes to the fair that day? Because somebody duct taped a banana to a wall

and asked $120,000 for it. And that moment probably did need to stop

and be reckoned with in real time.

While Kelly brushed past it,

lots of other people stayed and gawked.

The banana duct taped to a wall

became a viral sensation.

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