I know it sounds crazy but just– hear me out. As you’re aware, nobody gets any real respect in this business until they’ve found themselves some eccentric artist, duped his/her friends/colleagues/peers in the field/just rich people in general into buying said eccentric artist’s pieces for an obscene number of clams, and then having people say you, like, discovered the guy or put his name on the map or something. Unfortunately, Damien Hirst is spoken for. And for that matter, so is his ‘animal-in-formaldehyde’ shtick, which is pretty much exhausted at this point, having done not just the suspended-killer fish for the BSD crowd, but the unicorn as well, for those whose tastes veer more toward the Renaissance Fair-inspired, gay works. It’s always easier to come up with a gimmick in the early days, of course, so the next guy’s really gonna have to think big. Like, animals nailed to a cross big.
In a darkened 19th-century former church near London’s Regent’s Park, Michael Platt sips white wine and contemplates an unusual altar display: a life-size wax gorilla nailed to a wooden cross. The sculpture is a new work by Paul Fryer, a young British artist whom Platt, co-founder of hedge fund firm BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd., has sponsored for the past three years. Like a modern-day Medici, Platt has recouped his investment by selling Fryer’s works to collectors such as French billionaire Francois Pinault.
As he gazes at the ape — intended to represent the desecration of nature — Platt, 41, says, “The point is not to make money out of it; it’s to have fun. I’m not trying to make the art business my ticket out of the hedge fund world.”
So he’s not trying to get rich off this thing but obviously he’d like Fryer to do so, as it’d be a win-win for both of them. Who’s gonna step up to the plate? Don’t say no, just say maybe. Imagine how great that would look in the lobby of your hedge fund. First thing people see. Really sends a message.
BlueCrest’s Platt Turns Grandma’s Advice Into Hedge Fund Gold [BusinessWeek via BI]
$1 bob
what a hack.
-SAC
When you have that kind of bread you can have a live gorilla nailed to a cross in your living room if you want. Thats f u money…
@3 that's actually a really good idea. performance art.
Bess, 3 here, exactly right. Also, being rich people won't think you are crazy, they'll think you are "eccentric". Its an added bonus
It's… beautiful!
-DF
@3 Burn in hell and take your gorilla hand ash trays with you.
-Dian Fossey
@6 don't you think he'd be horrified?
Fuck You.
-Dick F
Is Paul Fryer just a pen name for Elin Nordegren?
@10 golf clap for the racist
Dick Fuld is now a revered religious symbol?
Is it a coincidence, or does that gorilla closely resemble Dick Fuld?
Amateur hack, I brought $5.6 mil 20yrs ago.
Bubbles
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/06…
hey fryer, I'm gonna piss in your mouth.
-DH
this guy makes me look like i have good taste in art.
http://dealbreaker.com/2007/12/a-serious-question…
Mike Platt is a huge a-hole. Definitely the most arrogant hedge fund manager I've met (and that's saying a lot).
I would much enjoy a Mexican coke shark strung up on a cross for my lobby.
Little Lloydsy and his bank
Dick Fuld = Icarus
@17 and?
This sh*tsack site gets worse every day. Like baboons flinging crap at each other. Leave the crucifix out of it c**t.
@21 um, what in the fuck are you talking about? tard.
Um, if you can't figure it out then it is you that is the tard, tard.
21 = Pope Benedict.
sensitive christian@21 maybe you should take your issue up with the guy doing the crucifying, not DB, you complete and utter moron.
@23/21 yeah, we get it, we get that you're a sensitive little bitch who can't take some crucifixion jokes (and also is too retarded to realize the person you should cry to about "leaving the crucifix out of it" is the artist, not db"). in sum, kill yourself. maybe with nails and a two by four?
@21 I just spoke to Jesus and he's cool with it. He also apologized on behalf of your filthy mouth.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
@27 Bess, how is Mr. Blankfein doing, anyway?
@21 I don't think Jesus would've use the word cunt. and he probably hates you.
@30 maybe not bearded-lady-Jesus but I bet gorilla-Jesus curses like a drunken deaf-mute longshoreman when you piss him off, am I right?
- not 21. obviously.
From the title I was certain this was going to be the old "serena williams is at the pearly gates.." joke.
@gherkin tsk, tsk.
This ain't art. Now if you put in a bucker full of urine, that would be art.
I like to think of Jesus as a mischievous badger.
C.N. Jr.
$1 bob
what a hack.
-SAC
When you have that kind of bread you can have a live gorilla nailed to a cross in your living room if you want. Thats f u money…
@3 that’s actually a really good idea. performance art.
Bess, 3 here, exactly right. Also, being rich people won’t think you are crazy, they’ll think you are “eccentric”. Its an added bonus
It’s… beautiful!
-DF
@3 Burn in hell and take your gorilla hand ash trays with you.
-Dian Fossey
@6 don’t you think he’d be horrified?
Fuck You.
-Dick F
Is Paul Fryer just a pen name for Elin Nordegren?
@10 golf clap for the racist
Dick Fuld is now a revered religious symbol?
Is it a coincidence, or does that gorilla closely resemble Dick Fuld?
Amateur hack, I brought $5.6 mil 20yrs ago.
Bubbles
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/06/michael-jackson-animals.html
hey fryer, I’m gonna piss in your mouth.
-DH
this guy makes me look like i have good taste in art.
http://dealbreaker.com/2007/12/a-serious-question.php
@33 I knew you'd like that one. Hope your holidays were enjoyable.
@36, pretty good holidays, not as hectic as usual. Likewise. Happy 2010. Here's hoping it's your most racist year ever.
-33
Mike Platt is a huge a-hole. Definitely the most arrogant hedge fund manager I’ve met (and that’s saying a lot).
I would much enjoy a Mexican coke shark strung up on a cross for my lobby.
Little Lloydsy and his bank
I like to think of my Jesus wearing a tuxedo t-shirt. It shows that he’s formal, ya know, but it also says, ‘Hey, I like to party'
Dick Fuld = Icarus
@17 and?
This sh*tsack site gets worse every day. Like baboons flinging crap at each other. Leave the crucifix out of it c**t.
@21 um, what in the fuck are you talking about? tard.
Um, if you can’t figure it out then it is you that is the tard, tard.
21 = Pope Benedict.
sensitive christian@21 maybe you should take your issue up with the guy doing the crucifying, not DB, you complete and utter moron.
@23/21 yeah, we get it, we get that you’re a sensitive little bitch who can’t take some crucifixion jokes (and also is too retarded to realize the person you should cry to about “leaving the crucifix out of it” is the artist, not db”). in sum, kill yourself. maybe with nails and a two by four?
@21 I just spoke to Jesus and he’s cool with it. He also apologized on behalf of your filthy mouth.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
@27 Bess, how is Mr. Blankfein doing, anyway?
@21 I don’t think Jesus would’ve use the word cunt. and he probably hates you.
@30 maybe not bearded-lady-Jesus but I bet gorilla-Jesus curses like a drunken deaf-mute longshoreman when you piss him off, am I right?
- not 21. obviously.
From the title I was certain this was going to be the old “serena williams is at the pearly gates..” joke.
@gherkin tsk, tsk.
This ain’t art. Now if you put in a bucker full of urine, that would be art.
I like to think of Jesus as a mischievous badger.
C.N. Jr.
@33 I knew you’d like that one. Hope your holidays were enjoyable.
@36, pretty good holidays, not as hectic as usual. Likewise. Happy 2010. Here’s hoping it’s your most racist year ever.
-33
I like to think of my Jesus wearing a tuxedo t-shirt. It shows that he’s formal, ya know, but it also says, ‘Hey, I like to party’
$10 that Platt is banging the Fryer.
$10 that Platt is banging the Fryer.
yo facers
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