Shah Alam, a 74-year-old fruit vendor from the Upper East Side, was left feeling salty after discovering that a banana he sold for a few cents was used in an artwork called “Comedian.” The artwork by Maurizio Cattelan was taped to a wall. The piece sold for a whopping $5.2 million at an auction. In addition to that more than $1 million was added in fees, per the New York Post.
“I got 35 cents. The other guy got $6 million,”
the confused fruit vendor informed the news outlet.
“It is beyond my imagination,”
he continued.
The Bangladeshi immigrant, who is nearly blind and speaks very little English, felt devastated to learn from a New York Times reporter that his banana was sold for millions at auction. He earns $12 an hour. He said,
“I have never had this kind of money; I have never seen this kind of money.”
How people are reacting?
However, despite it all, Justin Sun, the founder of a Chinese cryptocurrency company and new owner of the “Comedian,” offered to buy 100,000 bananas from Alam in a post on X Thursday night.
Sun ate the banana after buying the artwork and didn’t explain how he’d buy 100,000 bananas from the fruit vendor. The Post reports that Alam wasn’t unaware of this offer on X and reports added that a New Yorker set up GoFundMe for him to help him get paid for his contribution to the art piece.
The fundraiser’s creator, known as JS, plans to give Alam the money in early December. By Friday, the campaign raised nearly $14,000, exceeding its $5,000 goal, and JS will match the donation’s first $5,000.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
