The Matrix is arguably one of the greatest science-fiction films of the late 1990s. The intricate story about an average man who discovers that he is living in some sort of sinister computer simulation quickly became a pop culture phenomenon upon its release. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the main character, Neo (played by Keanu Reeves), stumbles upon a boy who appears to be able to bend a spoon with his mind. Curiously, Neo looks at the boy in disbelief and the boy calmly declares, There is no spoon. It is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself. In my opinion, this is a perfect metaphor for the business side of the antiques and collectibles trade. Every single day objects are bought and sold for record sums of money that seem to baffle people who are not active in the trade. I am sure by now most people have seen buzz worthy mass media headlines talking about some rare coin, comic book, or baseball card that recently sold for record sums. Thanks to the rise of reality-based television shows centered on antiques and collectibles, even the general public can now recognize things that appear average to most people can still sell for massive amounts. In a previous article, published not too long ago, I talked about an excellent book that was written by Barbara Herrnstein Smith and published in 1988. The book was called Contingencies of Value where the author contends that value emerges as a result of ever changing and interacting variables. Value is never guaranteed or static in the antiques and collectibles trade. Todays high price could be tomorrows low price and vice versa. There are no guarantees in any of these markets, they just are. But some prices paid for certain things push the boundaries as to what is acceptable. In those cases it is important to remember that there is no fixed price. The value is much like the spoon in The Matrix. Case in point, on Nov. 21, Sothebys sold an interesting piece of art for well over $6 million that left the art world speechless. It was on this date that a work of art titled Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan hit the auction block. But make no mistake, Comedian was an art work like no other. You dont even need a picture or any kind of visual aid to help readers understand what Comedian was and why this auction sale is generating so much buzz. It is, quite simply, a banana affixed to a white wall with silver duct tape. Thats it, and it sold for over $6 million. The day of the sale my email box was full of questions as to why and how someone would pay $6 million for a so-called art installation that consists of a simple piece of fruit that will easily rot away, affixed to a plain white wall with some store bought duct tape. To answer the question in its simplest form using my favorite scene in The Matrix, there is no fruit or tape. You see, the buyer of the art in question is a well-known cryptocurrency entrepreneur, and he didnt win the auction just to get the piece of rotten fruit and the used duct tape with his purchase. He also gets a certificate of authenticity that gives him the distinct permission to duct tape a banana to the wall and call it Comedian. It is this permission that the individual is spending $6 million on, along with the notoriety and fame of being able to spend over $6 million to do so. What is even more extraordinary about this story is that it is quite possible that this same piece of art could be sold again at a later date for even more than the $6 million this individual initially paid. Artists have long figured out that all art is subjective and, as a result, the value of a piece has more to do with how the piece of work is perceived. High-profile shock artist Banksy gained incredible fame back in 2018 when he created Love Is in the Bin, a piece of art that unexpectedly started to self-destruct in its original frame immediately after being sold at auction. It did this by way of having a hidden shredding mechanism implemented in the frame that no one knew existed. That particular piece sold for a little over $1.3 million originally and sold again in 2021 for well over $25 million due in part to the amount of media coverage the piece received. Artists have been creating these kinds of works for many years. Andy Warhol is one of my favorite contemporary artists, and he was known to poke fun at the art market from time to time. Warhol also took great pleasure in the money he made from his works of art, once declaring, Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art. If you have ever seen the infamous Andy Warhol Dollar Sign paintings that premiered in 1982 you can see his desire to praise the relationship between art and its financial value. That being said, if anyone is looking deeply at a work like Comedian and wondering just how long it must have taken for the artist to come up with this concept and profit from it, one must understand that the artist himself already had credibility in the art world to be able to pull this kind of work off. I am always amazed when a piece like this comes up for auction and someone outside the art world gleefully declares, I could have produced that piece! If I am within earshot of the person making this obvious declaration I usually have to hold back my sarcastic comment of, then why didnt you? To be fair, I fully understand the disdain, but I also understand the art market too. To anyone wanting to attempt to re-create this piece and attempt to sell it, you have your work cut out for you thats for sure. This is because the buyer didnt just buy a banana and some cheap duct tape. And it is vital that everyone questioning this sale and asking why understands this. I am confident crazier art installations will be sold and resold for much more money in the future just as long as capitalism continues to thrive. And rest assured the same media outlets that report on this piece will be reporting on them as well. Because at the end of the day, there really is no spoon. It can be whatever you want it to be and the market will determine just how much it sells for. Welcome to the art world! Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.