Wall lined with 7200 bananas

This wall made from 7200 bananas is on display at NYC's Deitch gallery until Feb 23. It's part of artist Stefan Sagmeister's exhibition "Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far."

Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far, an interactive exhibition by Stefan Sagmeister, opens at Deitch Projects on January 31, 2008. The exhibition will include works that have a life of their own, transforming throughout the exhibition as viewers engage with them. Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far is timed to coincide with the release of a new book of the same title, which surveys Sagmeister's illustrious career.

Link

[#1 posted by Not a Doktor , February 19, 2008 1:37 PM]

This shit is BANANAS

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

[#2 posted by pendraphen , February 19, 2008 1:50 PM]

What a tremendous waste of food.

[#3 posted by minamisan , February 19, 2008 2:17 PM]

one important Thing I Have Learned In My Life So Far: bananas don't smell so good after a week in the open.

[#4 posted by Dustin Driver , February 19, 2008 2:32 PM]

The worst part of this art installment isn't even mentioned: There's a cage full of hungry monkeys on the other side of the room.

[#5 posted by eosjack , February 19, 2008 3:24 PM]

7,200 starving children would have loved the treat of 1 banana each...

[#6 posted by Michael Brutsch , February 19, 2008 3:25 PM]

It's a very attractive installation, and I can clearly smell them looking at the pictures. Impressive art.

[#7 posted by The Thompson Five , February 19, 2008 3:40 PM]

I predict 7200 more comments about hungry people, and what real art is.

[#8 posted by Takuan , February 19, 2008 4:03 PM]

yes, we will have no bananas
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/17/RVD1UF89L.DTL&type=books

now I'll sing the Doom Song: Doom, doom,doom doomity doom doom doom......

[#9 posted by Named After Ham , February 19, 2008 5:26 PM]

This very much reminds me of an art professor of mine from several years back. For him, the quality of a particular work of art came not from its content but rather from its size.

A favorite and oft-quoted memory involves his suggestion to one student on how to improve a particular art proposal: "Sure, that's good, but what if you made it 50 FEET LONG?" (In a heavy Scottish accent, just to complete the scene.)

But to me, yeah, this just looks like a clossal waste...

[#10 posted by MrDandy , February 19, 2008 5:49 PM]

RingRingRingRingRingRingRingRing...Bananna Wall!
(sorry)

I'm waiting for a pananna-peel floor.

[#11 posted by MrDandy , February 19, 2008 5:51 PM]

Or maybe just a "bananna" peel floor.

[#12 posted by the specialist , February 19, 2008 6:18 PM]

"ART IS WHAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH."
andy warhol

[#13 posted by Neon Tooth , February 19, 2008 6:34 PM]

Now if he ate them all (no hands) at the opening, that would be impressive.

[#14 posted by Chocolatey Shatner , February 19, 2008 8:10 PM]

@Takuan: Awww... I wanted to explode.

[#15 posted by Takuan , February 19, 2008 8:17 PM]

glad someone has taste in their television viewing

[#16 posted by mikewhy , February 19, 2008 8:19 PM]

maybe it's a covert performance art piece involving the coming-into-being of 10,000,000 fruit flies. you know, some kinda Heideggerian schtick.

or as Groucho said: 'Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana!'

[#17 posted by smn , February 19, 2008 9:03 PM]

At the opening, the ripeness of the bananas varied, with the green ones spelling out one of the "Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far." The words disappeared when they all ripened; maybe they will reappear when the originally-yellow bananas turn brown.

[#18 posted by Takuan , February 19, 2008 9:10 PM]

ah, meaning.

[#19 posted by Cory Doctorow , February 19, 2008 10:24 PM]

I can't hear you -- I've got a banana on my wall!

[#20 posted by Kit10inDublin , February 20, 2008 2:58 AM]

It's not the waste of food or 'what is art?' shite that irks me about this it's the 'What I've learned in my life so far' title.

Here's something you can learn in your life for today, so far - the Irish owned company Fyffes buys the entire banana crop of Belize every year. Ta-daa!

[#21 posted by Ian70 , February 20, 2008 5:06 AM]

Please tell me someone has set up a camera to record stop-motion of the wall being installed and then slowly decomposing.
If this has not been done then these people will have wasted a -wonderful- opportunity at an awesome stop-motion project.

[#22 posted by gobo , February 20, 2008 6:08 AM]

I've seen Stefan Sagmeister speak, and the funny thing about this project is that the individual phrases, when presented as photography in a book, or in a video on his site, fall kinda flat. But presented in person by Stefan, they take on an engaging life as he describes the insane things he does to spell the letters out.

The most successful is probably HAVING GUTS ALWAYS WORKS OUT FOR ME, where he creates the letters from things like toilet paper strung from trees; the words take form as the camera rotates.

[#23 posted by lupino , February 20, 2008 7:17 AM]

I'm not sure who's influencing who, but Anya Gallaccio has done very similar installations with roses, and chocolate.

[#24 posted by David Carroll , February 20, 2008 8:01 AM]

@21 Great idea Ian70, I think they may have done it. Go to:
http://www.deitch.com/projects/project_images.php?slideShowId=354&projId=230

Staring at image 4 of the slideshow of Stefan Sagmeister's work are 4 pictures of his banana installation showing various degrees of decomposition. I would hope that there are more time lapse shots from this fixed position.

[#25 posted by Martini Whore , February 20, 2008 8:51 AM]

That is the stupidest shit i've seen in a while....on top of the fact it's a serious waste of food. What a prick.