Ruth S. Taylor,
December 06, 2024
Last month, a crypto entrepreneur bought a banana taped to a wall — a conceptual art piece by Maurizio Cattlean — at a Sotheby’s art auction for $6.2 million including auction-house fees and subsequently ate it.
At a press conference in a Hong Kong hotel where Justin Sun consumed the banana he purchased, he offered attendees each a roll of tape and a banana of their own. Did Sun know he was holding a modern, but degraded version of a potlatch?
On the Northwest coast of North America, for as long as oral tradition records, Indigenous tribes have held potlatch ceremonies where the community comes together to watch the host destroy some of his accumulated wealth and also give it away.
Precious oil was burned, valued ornaments were broken, and gifts of food and household items were distributed. Anthropologists saw potlatches as a way to redistribute wealth and also as a form of conspicuous consumption. After all, how rich must I be to be able to set a boatload of heating oil on fire?
These events also reflect an understanding that a community is at risk for disruptive actions when some people are accumulating wealth and others have little. Recognizing the high achievers, at the same time that everyone is able to eat, fosters social cohesion and strength.
We might want to give this practice some thought.
In the dominant American culture, where we are suspicious about redistribution, we certainly like to display the bounty of our wealth, even when it is modest. We did it with our elaborate Thanksgiving feasts with family and will do it again as we overspend on Christmas presents. You can say “consumer culture,” but I will also point out that there is an almost universal human desire to demonstrate our achievements and worth by obviously and publicly spending money. And in these popular traditions, we are also sharing, which makes them lovely.
Comedian,’ a conceptual art piece by Maurizio Cattlean was estimated to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million back in October when Sotheby’s announced the Nov. 20 date of ‘The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction’ in New York. (Courtesy of Sotheby’s)
The most status, however, seems to accrue to those who can literally afford to be wasteful. The competition to build the largest yacht that will be fully staffed but barely used, the need to own homes that will be staffed but not visited in every vacation spot on Earth. Assorted $50,000 pocketbooks and a half-million-dollar car to tool around the neighborhood. These are not actions taken out of need, or even from a desire to have the best made or best performing items. They signal to the community that someone is so rich they can, basically, set their money on fire.
Anthropologists saw potlatches as a way to redistribute wealth and also as a form of conspicuous consumption. After all, how rich must I be to be able to set a boatload of heating oil on fire?
The artist of the taped banana titled his work “Comedian,” and has said that it is a commentary on the absurdity of the art world. Ridiculous it may very well be, but the art world has become an additional way to practice an ancient tradition of displaying wealth. Buying art might seem like an investment that will yield a return, but let’s be real. A banana is not going to appreciate. It is going to rot. Might as well enjoy the snack. If Cattalan meant to reveal the nature of many of these purchases, he did a very good job.
However, Sun’s public consumption of his multimillion-dollar fruit is not at all the same as a community leader both wasting and sharing his wealth. It is trivializing the full meaning of potlatch to display your ability to waste but skip the part about sharing. In some ways it is pretty emblematic of our culture. That we care less for community cohesion, and we worry less about the potential danger of hoarding wealth when others are suffering.
True, Sun did offer attendees their own bananas. It would have been more in the spirit of the potlatch if he had distributed something useful, like cash.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com. Follow Rhode Island Current on Facebook and X.
Last month, a crypto entrepreneur bought a banana taped to a wall — a conceptual art piece by Maurizio Cattlean — at a Sotheby’s art auction for $6.2 million including auction-house fees and subsequently ate it.
At a press conference in a Hong Kong hotel where Justin Sun consumed the banana he purchased, he offered attendees each a roll of tape and a banana of their own. Did Sun know he was holding a modern, but degraded version of a potlatch?
On the Northwest coast of North America, for as long as oral tradition records, Indigenous tribes have held potlatch ceremonies where the community comes together to watch the host destroy some of his accumulated wealth and also give it away.
Precious oil was burned, valued ornaments were broken, and gifts of food and household items were distributed. Anthropologists saw potlatches as a way to redistribute wealth and also as a form of conspicuous consumption. After all, how rich must I be to be able to set a boatload of heating oil on fire?
These events also reflect an understanding that a community is at risk for disruptive actions when some people are accumulating wealth and others have little. Recognizing the high achievers, at the same time that everyone is able to eat, fosters social cohesion and strength.
We might want to give this practice some thought.
In the dominant American culture, where we are suspicious about redistribution, we certainly like to display the bounty of our wealth, even when it is modest. We did it with our elaborate Thanksgiving feasts with family and will do it again as we overspend on Christmas presents. You can say “consumer culture,” but I will also point out that there is an almost universal human desire to demonstrate our achievements and worth by obviously and publicly spending money. And in these popular traditions, we are also sharing, which makes them lovely.
Comedian,’ a conceptual art piece by Maurizio Cattlean was estimated to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million back in October when Sotheby’s announced the Nov. 20 date of ‘The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction’ in New York. (Courtesy of Sotheby’s)
The most status, however, seems to accrue to those who can literally afford to be wasteful. The competition to build the largest yacht that will be fully staffed but barely used, the need to own homes that will be staffed but not visited in every vacation spot on Earth. Assorted $50,000 pocketbooks and a half-million-dollar car to tool around the neighborhood. These are not actions taken out of need, or even from a desire to have the best made or best performing items. They signal to the community that someone is so rich they can, basically, set their money on fire.
Anthropologists saw potlatches as a way to redistribute wealth and also as a form of conspicuous consumption. After all, how rich must I be to be able to set a boatload of heating oil on fire?
The artist of the taped banana titled his work “Comedian,” and has said that it is a commentary on the absurdity of the art world. Ridiculous it may very well be, but the art world has become an additional way to practice an ancient tradition of displaying wealth. Buying art might seem like an investment that will yield a return, but let’s be real. A banana is not going to appreciate. It is going to rot. Might as well enjoy the snack. If Cattalan meant to reveal the nature of many of these purchases, he did a very good job.
However, Sun’s public consumption of his multimillion-dollar fruit is not at all the same as a community leader both wasting and sharing his wealth. It is trivializing the full meaning of potlatch to display your ability to waste but skip the part about sharing. In some ways it is pretty emblematic of our culture. That we care less for community cohesion, and we worry less about the potential danger of hoarding wealth when others are suffering.
True, Sun did offer attendees their own bananas. It would have been more in the spirit of the potlatch if he had distributed something useful, like cash.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com. Follow Rhode Island Current on Facebook and X.
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