What is Art? Mona Lisa, Van Gogh & a Banana Stuck to a Wall

Overview

The video explores how ordinary objects can become art through context, presentation, and the reactions they provoke. It opens with Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian—a banana taped to a gallery wall and valued at $120,000—which was later eaten by another artist as a performance. Other examples include Tracey Emin’s My Bed, Yoko Ono’s Apple, and Piero Manzoni’s Artist’s Shit.

New York artist Justin Gignac collects city trash and seals it in custom Plexiglas cubes. The objects preserve traces of everyday life and invite viewers to see discarded rubbish differently. Gignac says the work can fascinate buyers, though some people dislike or are disgusted by it.

Gallery deputy director Lisa Slade connects this approach to Marcel Duchamp, who presented everyday objects as art. The video suggests that art need not be traditional or beautiful: it can challenge expectations, spark questions, and prompt strong reactions. Whether it stands alongside famous works such as the Mona Lisa or Starry Night is left open.

Ideas and Creative Principles

• Change the context: Putting an everyday object in a gallery can alter how people perceive it.
• Invite interpretation: Art can make viewers pause, question what they are seeing, and reconsider familiar things.
• Evoke a response: Humor, delight, surprise, anger, or disgust can all be reactions to art.
• Be original: The artist’s choice and presentation help give an object new meaning.
• Use found materials: Gignac turns discarded city trash into carefully packaged artworks, drawing attention to its stories and place in urban life.

Creators and Contributors

• Maurizio Cattelan — Comedian and America
• Justin Gignac — artist who collects and packages New York City trash
• Lisa Slade — art gallery deputy director interviewed in the video
• Marcel Duchamp — artist discussed for presenting everyday objects as art
• Tracey Emin — My Bed
• Yoko Ono — Apple
• Piero Manzoni — Artist’s Shit
• Amelia — presenter of the segment