What went wrong in the Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck marriage? He forgot to commission a statute dedicated to J.Lo, like any sensible Roman would have done. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has not made the same mistake as Affleck. He asked American artist Daniel Arsham — also known for making giant Pokemon cards to NFTs of Porsches — to come up with a nearly seven-foot statue that captures the likeliness of Priscilla Chan.
Eyebrows have been raised because of the term “cack-handedness” comes to mind each time one catches a glimpse of the statue, especially when the base is considered — it looks like a puddle of spilt paint. Perhaps it’s the usage of turquoise and chrome that calls for such criticism on my part.
But for Zuckerberg, the sculpture is special enough to be kept in his backyard where Priscilla often sips tea, perhaps wearing an Offhours Homecoat.
Lately, Zuckerberg has been on a roll: Meta stocks are flying high, Meta AI has become a popular “open AI” model, and he has collected quite a few gold chains. He has enough reasons to act like a businessman from the Roman era. Back then, sculptures were made of wives in line with the ancient ideal of “pietas”, symbolising loyalty and devotion to the family and state.
Just one day after Facebook made its public trading debut, the company's founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg wed Priscilla Chan, whom he met during his years as an undergraduate student at Harvard
His fascination for the emperor Augustus is well documented. In 2018, he told the New Yorker: “My wife was making fun of me, saying she thought there were three people on the honeymoon: me, her, and Augustus.”
Like Augustus, the tech man assumed a lot of power at a young age. “I think Augustus is one of the most fascinating. Basically, through a really harsh approach, he established two hundred years of world peace,” he said.
Besides naming his second daughter August, he spent his 2012 honeymoon in Rome.
Priscilla is not the only one
It would be wrong to praise Zuckerberg alone for undertaking an act that may become a trend. In May 2023, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos unveiled his $500 million yacht named Koru. Look closely at the pictures of the boat and you will notice a figurehead that looks like his fiancee Lauren Sanchez. Koru symbolises new beginnings, Bezos has cited before on his Instagram.
But Sanchez doesn’t want to take credit and has told Vogue that the figurehead portrays Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, fertility, war and gold. Now, it’s her word versus that of her likeness!
The difference between the figurehead on the boat and the sculpture in Zuckerberg’s backyard is simple — the former will get splashed by sea water while the sculpture will be pooped on by birds. But years and years later, all such works of art will find a place somewhere.
These tech billionaires may have been taking notes from American industrialist and art collector Peter Brant, who, in 2003, commissioned a work from artist Maurizio Cattelan of his wife Stephanie Seymour.
What the tech world needs at the moment is someone like Andy Warhol, who could churn out screen printings at a blistering speed.
