Bananas, Brat Green, and a Pigeon Named Dinosaur: Art’s Wild Year in the Spotlight

In a year dominated by global elections and political noise, art found its own ways to break through—sometimes with a banana, sometimes with a splash of green. A duct-taped banana by Maurizio Cattelan fetched $6.2 million at auction, sparking debates about value, absurdity, and the art market’s appetite for spectacle. Meanwhile, Banksy’s animal murals popped up across London, each new creature turning city walls into a scavenger hunt and media frenzy. The color “Brat green,” launched by Charli XCX’s album, became a cultural phenomenon, outshining even Pantone’s official color of the year and coloring everything from campaign logos to social feeds. On the High Line, a 17-foot pigeon sculpture by Iván Argote celebrated New York’s most misunderstood resident, reminding passersby that even the ordinary can be monumental. Whether through controversy, color, or colossal birds, 2024 proved that art’s viral moments are rarely random—they’re reflections of deeper currents, looping history with a wink and a wallop. #ContemporaryArt #ArtHistory #ViralCulture #Culture