Nov 21 2024 - That duct-tape banana

 

Remember that banana?  Duct-taped to a wall.  It was in Miami at an art show a few years ago.  It isn't the same banana.  But it still is art. The first edition of the artwork debuted in 2019 at the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair, drawing a mix of opinions as to whether it was a joke or cheeky commentary on questionable standards among art collectors.  Another artist took the banana off the wall and ate it.  But that didn't stop it from being a lasting piece of art. What makes it a permanent art piece is its "certificate." So this week a person purchased the certificate of authenticity that gives them the authority to duct-tape a banana to a wall and call it Comedian by artist Maurizio Cattelan.   What makes this news? The piece was sold for $5.2 and the auction fees are $1 million.   Don't you think the auction fees are as much of a story as the banana art?  Supposedly the seller's commission at major auction houses is 15% plus shipping, insurance and then a marketing and cataloguing fee.   Other articles say that buyers premiums have increased to 25%. Stories like this ask us what we are to make of the art world?  The art world certainly makes headlines, so maybe that's all there is to it - it keeps people with a lot of money busy spending it, and a lot of people have good jobs selling it.

Here's the graffiti alley in St. Catharines.

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June 120 2024 - 1,000 types of bananas

 

We are coming into a world crises of bananas with only one variety in cultivation - the Cavendish.  More than 100 billion bananas are eaten each year worldwide.  That's how many tears will be shed if there are no bananas. Did you know that the bananas we ate used to be the Gros Michel, and in the 1950s it was practically wiped out by a banana wilt fungus. Cavendish replaced it - smaller and less tasty - able to grow in infected soils.  There is now a new fungus that is more deadly than the one that wiped out the Gros Michel.  Supposedly there is nothing to replace the Cavendish right now that is fungus-resistant.  Over 2,000 varieties - some are full of black seeds, hard as rocks.  Others are starchy and not sweet. Isn't this the perfect storm for a hybridization frenzy?  There are at least 60 major banana collections worldwide.  But the world's largest is in Belgium. The banana genebank in Leuven maintains 1547 banana accessions of both edible and wild banana species. Since most bananas do not produce seeds, the 40 scientists working at the ITC cannot simply store seeds of the bananas as is done for other crops at the Artic Svalbard Seed Bank. Instead, each of the 1547 banana accessions is represented by 20 tissue-culture plantlets that are kept on nutrient medium at 16°C. At this temperature, the small banana plantlets grow minimally and only need to be transferred to new growth medium once a year. So we should be optimistic that we can handle this crises given the vast number of bananas eaten each year.  Let's hope we are looking at something besides Cavendish in an image soon.

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July 12 2021 - That Banana Slicer

 

It was a year ago that we found out about the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer on Amazon with 5,600 reviews. There is now a Vintage Hutzler Banana Slicer No. 571 available on eBay. But that seems like the latest post on it. Has it fallen out of favour?  The reviews and articles are from 2013 to 2016.  The peak of thousands of reviews are from 2014/2015.  A recent USA Today article describes 20 genius home products that are all over TikTok.  It is HERE. It has to include the banana slicer along with things like: the Zero Indispensable Dry Food (Cereal) Dispenser, a stuffed waffle maker, a handy stair basket.  That article says there are over 6,500 positive reviews on Amazon. So it remains a classic and one can find  the 'saved marriage' or the '27 trained monkeys' or 'angle is wrong' or 'sent to nephew who has been using an old slinky' and so on.  Perhaps it had its moment of glory as it does seem to have drifted off the radar. The Facebook and Instagram pages are tragically low on postings.   The Hutzler Mfg Co itself is around - it is at hutzlerco.com and has utensils, food preparation, storage and similar products.  You can see the banana slicer on their website, but alas there is no reference to its Amazon fame. Perhaps it did not find the reviews amusing.

June 13 20321 - No Slipping Up

 

Are you ready for banana peel bacon?  I expect this is the sort of thing that gives vegans the reputation for weird food.  Banana peels are trending now more than ever.   Here it is:  Scrape off the white inside part of very ripe banana peels, then marinade it in soy sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika for 10 minutes to a few hours. Heat oil in the skillet, add the peels until golden and bubble up a little. They get crispier as they cool.  As I mentioned, banana peels are trending.  So many ways to eat them and things to do with banana peels. There's banana peel vegan pulled pork sandwiches, banana peel vinegar, banana peel flour.  And you can polish your silver, whiten your teeth, relieve itchy skin.   I wonder about vegan eating.  I notice is how vegan eating articles are focused on meat.  Are we by nature meat eaters and veganism is unnatural?  I hadn't thought that: my own theory is that we are protein and fat lovers.  But vegan articles seem to obsess on meat replacements.  One article shows you vegan haggis, vegan peking duck vegan shrimp, vegan sushi, vegan steaks, meat-less vegan jerky, vegantoona, black seaweed-caviar, and butter chik'un.    There is lots of evidence of weird combinations proposed in vegan cooking.  An article proposes avocado and chocolate, apples and hummus, pickles and peanut butter, pomegranate and guacamole.  It goes on with more of these sorts of combinations.  They look like things that fraternity parties would serve in U.S. colleges. This is the month of roses and rose bushes have more flowers than I can remember seeing in the past.  Today's picture is a garden in Queenston.

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Jan 4 2020 - You Can't Imagine Such Banana Art

 

Today's subject is banana ideas that might entertain children or that get at least 3 art collectors to spend $120,000 US.  Headline in artnews in December 2019:  Is Maurizio Cattelan's $120,000 banana sculpture a cynical sign of the times of a thrilling artwork?  Yes! "The semi-retired artist, whose last major creation was a golden toilet titled America (2016), has now taped a banana to a wall of Perrotin gallery’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach, the glitzy bazaar that alights in that flood-endangered city every December. It is titled Comedian, and it is priced at $120,000. Three were available, and the first two apparently sold on opening day." "Though Cattelan is known for being something of an art world prankster, Perrotin was quick to dismiss the idea that Comedian is a joke. Every aspect of the work was carefully considered, from the shape of the fruit, to the angle its been affixed with duct tape to the wall, to its placement in the booth—front and center, on a large wall that could have easily fit a much larger painting—he said." To assure the purchasers of their investments were of value? "The purchased editions come with a certificate of authenticity. The banana can be replaced as needed." There are lots of explanations of the work's meaning.  I prefer to bypass all of these to show you the witty banana sculptures below Cattelan's visually boring piece which has its own entry in Wikipedia (!) Head over to Saatchi Art to see all manner of banana art HERE.  You can see a few satires of Cattelan's banana among them.   The daffodil abstract follows the theme of yellow to go with our banana art.     Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

July 6 2020 - Peel that Banana

I went and checked out Terra Lavanda Farm yesterday.  It is nearby - only 15 minutes away.  With COVID-19 it is closed, so I didn't get to take any pictures in the rows of lavender in full bloom.  NEOB Lavender is in Niagara-on-the-Lake and it is open during this time, so I am hoping to get out later in the week. The reviews say great products, friendly staff, wonderful time.  The reviews look genuine enough - that is, compared to the Hutzler 571 banana slicer.  A CBC segment told me there were 6,000 reviews of this product.  So I found an article on it to share with you - here's the introduction: "Since 2011, Amazon reviewers have been leaving hilarious and sarcastic comments on this unnecessary Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer. Five years later and the running joke is still going strong. For whatever reason, people really love to hate on this $4 banana-shaped product — at the time of this post, it has nearly 5,600 Amazon reviews, the majority of which are comical or sarcastic. There are even short stories and some poems written in the reviews: "For decades I have been trying to come up with an ideal way to slice a banana. 'Use a knife!' they say. Well...my parole officer won't allow me to be around knives. 'Shoot it with a gun!' Background check...HELLO! I had to resort to carefully attempt to slice those bananas with my bare hands. 99.9% of the time, I would get so frustrated that I just ended up squishing the fruit in my hands and throwing it against the wall in anger. Then, after a fit of banana-induced rage, my parole officer introduced me to this kitchen marvel and my life was changed. No longer consumed by seething anger and animosity towards thick-skinned yellow fruit, I was able to concentrate on my love of theater and am writing a musical play about two lovers from rival gangs that just try to make it in the world. I think I'll call it South Side Story.  "Banana slicer...thanks to you, I see greatness on the horizon." Go straight to the Amazon product HERE.   You can see the international reviews, then the reviews from Canada.  Look for the Jake from State Farm story. We're looking at the Strasburg Rail Road today.

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