On Thursday I wrote about Caesar Saëz, an Argentine artist planning to build a 300-meter long banana and float it over Texas as a protest against George W. Bush. He received $130,000 in public funding from Canadian and Quebec taxpayers, and, as the Quebec radio host I linked to kept demanding to know, “Where is the banana?”

Grace Thrasher of the Canada Council has now written to me explaining why there’s nothing to see here:

The Council awarded Mr. Saez a grant on the basis of the recommendations of a peer assessment committee. The grant was to undertake research that would lead to the creation of a geostationary banana. Mr. Saez had submitted an application to a program that provides a two year grant to senior artists for work “designed to advance the long-term artistic and career development of the artist”. The grant did not cover the cost of the actual creation as the artist was going to solicit public contributions to raise the $1 million to cover the construction and flotation costs. Mr. Saez has submitted an interim report to the Council confirming the research work that was completed.
Mr. Saez, along with many other Canadian artists, works internationally with other artists and organizations in the creation of new works. His work has been presented in France and other countries in the past.

So if Pat Buchanan’s vacationing in Provence and he’s asked if he’d like to see the geostationary fruits, don’t assume it’s an airborne tour of the Mapplethorpe bullwhip pics.