Comedian, Maurizio Cattelan’s instant classic, sold for more than quadruple some estimates at Sotheby’s this week. How one work, and its worth, both satirizes and explains the meme-y days ahead.

Turns out that crypto bros love “Comedian,” Maurizio Cattelan’s now-infamous work consisting of a banana with duct tape, a spoof of art-world capitalism.

Why it matters: "Comedian" sold for $6.2 million at auction this week — a ludicrous price for a banana, but a perfectly normal price for a major piece of contemporary art. The big picture: Comedy has always struggled with being taken seriously,