Art Basel Miami: Epstein-Meme replaces $ 120,000 banana

A banana installation by Italian Maurizio Cattelan, sold for 120,000 dollars (108,000 euros) at Art Basel Miami, seems to inspire other artists to write their own works and messages. On Saturday, David Datuna had eaten the banana taped to the wall in front of the perplexed visitors and called the action a "Hungry Artist". As several US media report, if a man in the same place with red lipstick should have written a message on the wall: "Epstien (sic) did not kill himself". The author, 46-year-old Roderick Webber, also described this action as art.

The duct-taped banana at Art Basel has been replaced with "Epstein Did not Kill Himself." Security pic.twitter.com/nPtnuCm6sc

"This is a gallery where everyone can do art, right?" Webber says in a private video released by the Miami Herald. Less later, the police arrested the man. This communicated that Webber had had a red color on the finger and confirmed that he had written the lettering on the wall. "If someone can eat the $ 120,000 banana and is not arrested, why can not I write on the same wall?" Webber continues.

The epic "Epstien did not kill himself" refers to the billionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who also distinguished himself as a patron of the arts in Florida. He was found dead in his prison cell in New York last summer. The autopsy revealed that Epstein had killed himself. At the same time speculation was made as to whether Epstein was killed because of his wealth and his connections to powerful people of the world such as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.

The now-detained Webber had recently made headlines when he wanted to register as a presidential candidate for New Hampshire with the nickname "Epstein did not kill himself". When asked about the spelling of the name at the Art Basel action, he said, "Newsweek says:" Memes need nonsense, art is no longer art, art is memes. " Nonsense can only be met with further nonsense. If a banana is worth $ 120,000, it's a moral obligation to ridicule and ridicule this madness thousands of times.

The Georgian-American artist Datuna had commented on his performance on Saturday with the words: "I love Maurizio Cattelan's art and I really love this installation, it's delicious." Galerie Perrotin, responsible for the exhibition, had responded calmly: "He has not destroyed the artwork," a spokesman said, according to the newspaper "Miami Herald." First, the banana was replaced, then the whole artwork was removed - for security reasons, as it was called. This now left room for Webber's action.