Like the government, big banks do whatever they can to keep secrets private. Most of us — a rival company, journalist, government official or investor — would still probably relish the chance to be a fly on the wall in that office or boardroom where a critical decision is made.
But would you want a glimpse into a banker's most private of moments?
As reported by The New York Times' "DealBook," a New York art installation claims to offer exactly that to visitors of a Manhattan diner in the form of the bathroom used by JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s top brass.
"A commode fit for a Wall Street C-suite has made its way to the unlikeliest of places: a greasy-spoon diner on Manhattan's Lower East Side," the paper said.
The Olympic Restaurant is housing the project, titled "Power Toilet," as its actual restroom, the paper's business blog said. It was also reported on the website ARTINFO.com.
The installation by the Danish art group SuperFlex claims to replicate the executive bathroom at the bank's headquarters in New York.
Of course, the newspaper aptly points out that "it's not clear how accurate Olympic's loo look-alike is." (When contacted by American Banker, a spokesman at the bank declined to comment.) ARTINFO.com reported SuperFlex based the design on camera phone pics from an anonymous source who allegedly gained entry into the real-life bathroom.
"We hope people could make the links to JPMorgan Chase or what the financial crisis means to them personally, as a story, as a cultural discussion," SuperFlex member Bjørnstjerne Christiansen was quoted saying in ARTINFO.
This is not SuperFlex's first foray into trying to mimic high-powered water closets. The group built a replica of the United Nations Security Council's bathroom in a public park in the Netherlands.
"DealBook" reported that JPMorgan Chase wasn't singled out. Ann Pasternak, president of Creative Time, which collaborated on the project, told the Times, "It's not about targeting JPMorgan. It could have been any bank." She said the restaurant's bathroom renovation cost over $10,000. DealBook described the bathroom as having a "Kohler sink, Crane toilet, and quilted toilet paper, along with a framed print of a potted flower."
