Banking is Art (defaced)

Who would have thought that the desperate times we live in could create imaginative new art forms ... but that’s exactly what the crisis did for one PR person in New York.

Geoffrey Raymond was languishing in the backrooms of lobbying the media world when, seeing the Lehmans and capital markets implosions, he was inspired to go out and paint the evil bankers.

But not in the usual way but in an unusual way by painting their portraits and then allowing the public to write their views directly onto the canvas about said individual.

So far, he’s painted Alan Greenspan, Tim Geithner, Lloyd Bankfein, Ben Bernanke, Eliot Spitzer, Hank Greenberg and many other beloved icons of the financial meltdown.

In his latest outing, Richard Fuld and Hank Paulson managed to create quite a strong outpouring of public emotion as illustrated by this short clip:

(I originally heard about him on BBC News)

Apparently, folks are encouraged to write “I am Spartacus” if they can’t think of anything themselves – no, I am Spartacus! – and it’s interesting to see that the ‘Blue Paulson’ receives far less commentary than the ‘Re-examined Fuld’:

Notable quotes include:

“What’s your plan ... again?”
“OK, so you messed up. Now what?”
“A-hole, liar, thief ... did I miss anything?”
“I thought writing on paintings was vandalism”

“May you get what you deserve”
“Should we all have to pay for other’s mistakes”
“Greed is sin”
“Greed is good”

Anyone would think the masses were angry.

For those working in a bank however, you can purchase an original Raymond artwork for less than a day’s bonus. Each piece is valued at $35,000 for an original artwork, but you can get a signed print for just $250 from Wall Street Cheat.

Mr Raymond’s full portfolio can be seen at his Picasa page.