FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A familiar fruit is turning heads yet again in South Florida, this time at the 32nd Las Olas Art Fair.
Of the more than 300 artists featuring their artwork along Las Olas Boulevard, Sunday, crowds found Roy Rodriguez’s piece particularly “a-peeling.”
The famed, or infamous, banana duct-taped to a wall made its official Fort Lauderdale debut.
“It’s a great day here, and I had a banana — for lunch, by the way — so I decided to put it up,” said Rodriguez.
The conversation piece, titled “Howard Alan Shows Banana,” spoofs “Comedian,” the Art Basel banana by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan that made headlines worldwide back in December.
Rodriguez said he named his banana after his friend.
“We named it after my [friend’s] name here, Howard Alan,” he said. “That’s it. That’s the name of the banana.”
Two bananas duct-taped to a wall each sold for $120,000 at Art Basel Miami Beach. The conversation piece even prompted performance artist David Datuna to remove one of them from a gallery wall and eat it on camera.
With a $100,000 price tag, Rodriguez said he’s willing to split with his banana at a discount, and unlike Cattelan’s creation, he was lucky no one came and took a bite out of his precious art piece.
“It’s a great day in Miami, it’s a great day here,” said Rodriguez. “The fair creates this atmosphere and this energy between the artist and the public.”
Part 1 of the 32nd Las Olas Art Fair came to a close on Sunday. Part 2 is schedule to kick off in March.
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