Turkish cities poke fun at duct-taped banana

ISTANBUL

Turkish municipalities recently poked fun at an art piece that recently made headlines: a banana duct-taped to a wall at an art fair in Miami, Florida that sold for $120,000 but was eaten by a visitor in a video that went viral on social media.

Four municipalities shared on Twitter their own parodies of renowned Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s “masterpiece.”

On its official Twitter account, the city of Kayseri in central Turkey posted a photo of Cattelan-style artwork: a slice of pastırma (pastrami) taped to a wall.

Kayseri is famous for its “pastırma,” a kind of dried cured beef with a spicy coating.

“Those who do not eat pastırma in Kayseri hang bananas on the wall and appraise them for $120,000. We are waiting for you to eat pastırma in the #TheCityWithRichCuisine,” the city tweeted.

The city of Trabzon also joined in the fun, tweeting: “This is what you call a work. It’s even better if it’s steamed,” with a picture of hamsi (Black Sea anchovy) taped to a wall.

Anchovies are considered a main source of food for people living in the Black Sea region. An anchovy is even used as the symbol of the Turkish football team Trabzonspor.

“Now, it is a real work of art. We are waiting for the buyers,” tweeted the city of Ordu on Turkey’s northern Black Sea coast with an image of hazelnut artwork. Ordu grows a quarter of the world’s hazelnuts.

Şanlıurfa province in southern Turkey shared a photo of a pepper taped to a wall on social media, describ-ing it as a priceless work of art.

The incident of Turkish metropolitan municipalities taking advantage of promoting local food took place on Dec. 4, when a banana duct-taped to a wall went on sale for $120,000 at Art Basel.

The work, by Maurizio Cattelan, was presented by Perrotin, a contemporary art gallery founded in Paris that has had a long association with the Italian artist.

The banana was eaten on Dec. 7 by David Datuna, a performance artist, who shared his feat on social me-dia.

In his post, Datuna said the artwork was delicious and added that he admired works by Cattelan.

After a replacement banana was put on display, police were put on duty to prevent a similar theft.

Luckily for the buyer, the artwork has a certificate of authenticity that enables replacement of the banana.

Cattelan produced a total of three banana artworks regarded as a critique of international commerce. The first two sold for $120,000, and the third is expected to net $150,000.

In September, a solid gold toilet by Cattelan, which he named “America,” valued at $6 million, was stolen from England’s Blenheim Palace where it was displayed.