An art student in South Korea ate a banana that was part of an art exhibition. The artwork was called “Comedian” and it was made by an artist named Maurizio Cattelan. The banana was stuck to a wall at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul. The student, named Noh Huyn-soo, said he was hungry because he didn’t have breakfast. He ate the banana and then taped the peel to the wall. The museum then put a new banana in the same place. The student’s friend recorded the incident. The museum did not say anything about the situation, but they won’t ask the student to pay for the banana. Cattelan said he wasn’t angry about it. In 2019, somebody else ate a banana from one of Cattelan’s artworks.
Original news source: Maurizio Cattelan: Banana artwork eaten by Seoul museum visitor (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Banana Art
Instructions: Show a picture of the artwork “Comedian” and ask the students to describe what they see. Then tell them the story about the student who ate the banana. Ask them if they think it was a good idea to eat the artwork. Encourage them to give reasons for their answers.
– Hungry Student
Instructions: Tell the students to draw a picture of their favorite food. Then ask them to share with the class what they drew and why they like that food. After everyone has shared, ask if anyone has ever been so hungry that they would eat anything, like the student in the article.
– Museum Rules
Instructions: Make a table on the whiteboard with two columns. In the first column, write “Do” and in the second column write “Don’t”. Ask the students to brainstorm rules for visiting a museum. Write their ideas in the appropriate column. Then discuss with the class if the student in the article broke any rules.
– Art Critic
Instructions: Show a picture of a different artwork and ask the students to describe what they see and how it makes them feel. Then ask the students to imagine they are art critics and write a short review of the artwork. Encourage them to use descriptive words and explain why they like or dislike the artwork.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What did the art student in South Korea eat at an art exhibition?
2. What was the name of the artwork that had the banana stuck to the wall?
3. Why did the student eat the banana?
4. What did the student do after he ate the banana?
5. Did the museum put another banana in the same place?
6. Who recorded the incident?
7. Will the museum make the student pay for the banana?
8. Did the artist get angry about what happened to his artwork?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
An art (1)________ in South Korea ate a banana that was part of an (2)________ exhibition. The artwork was called “Comedian” and it was made by an artist named Maurizio Cattelan. The banana was stuck to a (3)________ at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul. The student, named Noh Huyn-soo, said he was (4)________ because he didn’t have breakfast. He ate the banana and then taped the peel to the wall. The museum then put a new banana in the same (5)________. The student’s (6)________ recorded the incident. The museum did not say anything about the situation, but they won’t ask the student to pay for the banana. Cattelan said he wasn’t (7)________ about it. In 2019, somebody else ate a banana from one of Cattelan’s (8)________.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What did the art student eat?
2. Why did the art student eat the banana?
3. Did the art student tape the peel to the wall after eating the banana?
4. What did the museum do after the art student ate the banana?
5. Did the museum ask the art student to pay for the banana?
6. Who recorded the incident?
7. What did Maurizio Cattelan make?
8. Was the artwork called “Comedian”?
9. Where was the artwork located?
10. Was the Leeum Museum of Art located in South Korea?
11. Was this the first time somebody ate a banana from one of Cattelan’s artworks?
12. Was Cattelan angry about the situation?
13. Do you think it’s okay to eat artwork?
14. Have you ever seen artwork before?
15. What’s your favorite type of fruit?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. banana
2. art exhibition
3. artist
4. tape
5. friend
6. museum
7. breakfast
8. incident
Meanings:
A) A place where people can go see paintings, sculptures, and other types of art
B) The first meal of the day
C) A person who creates art
D) An unexpected event that happens
E) A yellow fruit with a soft inside and a peel on the outside
F) A long, thin piece of sticky material used to hold things together
G) A person you like and enjoy spending time with
H) A display of art for people to look at and enjoy.
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What did the art student eat at the museum?
(a) an apple
(b) a pizza
(c) a sandwich
(d) a banana
2. What was the name of the art installation?
(a) Comedian
(b) Tragedy
(c) Drama
(d) Romance
3. Who made the art installation?
(a) Noh Huyn-soo
(b) Maurizio Cattelan
(c) The museum director
(d) The student’s friend
4. Why did the student eat the banana?
(a) He was bored
(b) He was thirsty
(c) He was hungry
(d) He was curious
5. What did the student do after he ate the banana?
(a) He taped the peel to the wall
(b) He left the museum
(c) He threw the peel away
(d) He painted on the wall
6. What did the museum do after the student ate the banana?
(a) They scolded the student
(b) They kicked the student out
(c) They put a new banana on the wall
(d) They closed the exhibition
7. Did the museum ask the student to pay for the banana?
(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Maybe
(d) It’s not mentioned in the article
8. Has anyone else eaten a banana from one of Cattelan’s artworks before?
(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) It’s not mentioned in the article
(d) The article does not say
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. An art student in South Korea ate a banana that was part of an art exhibition.
2. The artwork was called “Comedian” and it was made by an artist named Maurizio Cattelan.
3. The banana was stuck to a floor at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul.
4. The student, named Noh Huyn-soo, said he was thirsty because he didn’t have breakfast.
5. The museum put a new banana in the same place.
6. The student’s friend recorded the incident.
7. The museum asked the student to pay for the banana.
8. In 2019, nobody ate a banana from one of Cattelan’s artworks.
Go to answers ⇩
Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Writing Questions:
Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
1. What did the art student in South Korea eat?
2. What was the artwork called?
3. Why did the student say he ate the banana?
4. What did the student do after he ate the banana?
5. Has someone else eaten a banana from one of Cattelan’s artworks before?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What did the art student in South Korea eat at an art exhibition?
Answer: The art student ate a banana.
2. What was the name of the artwork that had the banana stuck to the wall?
Answer: The name of the artwork was “Comedian.”
3. Why did the student eat the banana?
Answer: The student ate the banana because he was hungry and he didn’t have breakfast.
4. What did the student do after he ate the banana?
Answer: The student taped the peel to the wall after he ate the banana.
5. Did the museum put another banana in the same place?
Answer: Yes, the museum put a new banana in the same place after the student ate the first one.
6. Who recorded the incident?
Answer: The student’s friend recorded the incident.
7. Will the museum make the student pay for the banana?
Answer: No, the museum won’t ask the student to pay for the banana.
8. Did the artist get angry about what happened to his artwork?
Answer: No, the artist didn’t get angry about what happened to his artwork.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. student
2. art
3. wall
4. hungry
5. place
6. friend
7. angry
8. artworks
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. banana
Answer: E) A yellow fruit with a soft inside and a peel on the outside
2. art exhibition
Answer: H) A display of art for people to look at and enjoy.
3. artist
Answer: C) A person who creates art
4. tape
Answer: F) A long, thin piece of sticky material used to hold things together
5. friend
Answer: G) A person you like and enjoy spending time with
6. museum
Answer: A) A place where people can go see paintings, sculptures, and other types of art
7. breakfast
Answer: B) The first meal of the day
8. incident
Answer: D) An unexpected event that happens
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What did the art student eat at the museum?
Answer: (d) a banana
2. What was the name of the art installation?
Answer: (a) Comedian
3. Who made the art installation?
Answer: (b) Maurizio Cattelan
4. Why did the student eat the banana?
Answer: (c) He was hungry
5. What did the student do after he ate the banana?
Answer: (a) He taped the peel to the wall
6. What did the museum do after the student ate the banana?
Answer: (c) They put a new banana on the wall
7. Did the museum ask the student to pay for the banana?
Answer: (b) No
8. Has anyone else eaten a banana from one of Cattelan’s artworks before?
Answer: (a) Yes
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. An art student in South Korea ate a banana that was part of an art exhibition.
Answer: True
2. The artwork was called “Comedian” and it was made by an artist named Maurizio Cattelan.
Answer: True
3. The banana was stuck to a floor at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul.
Answer: False
4. The student, named Noh Huyn-soo, said he was thirsty because he didn’t have breakfast.
Answer: False
5. The museum put a new banana in the same place.
Answer: True
6. The student’s friend recorded the incident.
Answer: True
7. The museum asked the student to pay for the banana.
Answer: False
8. In 2019, nobody ate a banana from one of Cattelan’s artworks.
Answer: False
Go back to questions ⇧
