Fruit for Thought

This thesis investigates how the cultural significance of Maurizio Cattelan's artwork Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall, was discursively constructed through media coverage, public responses and institutional practices between 2019 and 2025. Instead of treating the artwork as a static object with fixed meaning, this study analyzes how its interpretation emerged through intersecting dynamics of audience engagement, humor and media spectacle. Using qualitative thematic analysis of 51 English-language news articles, the research traces the artwork Comedian's transformation from a viral provocation into an institutionalized artwork and multimillion-dollar commodity. The analysis is structured around three thematic pillars: audience reception and participatory performance; the discursive function of humor and satire; and the commodification of the artwork through media spectacle and institutional ritual. The findings demonstrate that the artwork Comedian's cultural significance was not defined by the artist or the art world alone, but co-produced through circulation, interpretation and performance across audience, journalistic and institutional spheres. This study contributes to media and cultural theory by showing how artistic value is not only assigned, but actively negotiated through tone, framing and affective engagement. It highlights how irony, laughter and spectacle operate as central forces in the re-construction of meaning and legitimacy in contemporary art discourse.