Man Destroys $120,000 Art Piece at Leeum Museum by Eating It

The internet has birthed a Korean neologism called "Meokgeom (먹금)" ("Don't feed"), warning against giving attention to pointless and attention-seeking behavior. 

This is precisely why reporters from the Ministry of Culture, responsible for the arts, were not impressed with an email titled “A friend of mine who majored in aesthetics at Seoul National University ate Cattelan’s work at the Leeum Museum of Art.” Attached were photos and videos of a young man peeling a banana from the wall, eating it, and sticking the peel back on.

The exhibition at Leeum Museum of Art is Cattelan's 'WE,' featuring 'Comedian,' a conceptual artwork with bananas taped to the wall, originally showcased at the 2019 art fair ‘Art Basel Miami’ and sold for $120,000. This sparked a debate on whether pricing art is reasonable and how to differentiate between art and non-art in contemporary art.

David Datuna, a performance artist from New York, peeled a banana from the wall and ate it, stating, “I am hungry,” making the artwork even more famous. The artist attached a new banana, emphasizing that the fruit was unimportant. Instead, it was the concept of selling bananas attached to a wall with tape that was the artwork.

The recent incident involving Mr. Noh Hyun Soo at the Leeum Museum of Art was almost identical to the one at Art Basel in 2019. When asked why he ate the banana, he claimed to be hungry because he had skipped breakfast. The art world criticized it as 'plagiarism,' and negative public opinion prevailed in the online community. Many pointed out that Noh's actions were far from original, and he only did it to seek attention.

The museum did not seek damages but reattached a new banana.