Art as storyline in WeCrashed.

WeCrashed's Episode 7, "The Power of We", includes a fascinating art storyline that is one of the most entertaining things that happen in this entire series. In it, WeWork Cofounder Miguel Mckelvey (played by Kyle Marvin) has a Roy Lichtenstein painting hanging in his office. Adam Neumann (played by Jared Leto) asks him about it, and Miguel admits that it's not the original - just a copy. Since the company is about to go public and Adam is assuming they will all soon be insanely rich, he tells Miguel to go buy some real art.

A few scenes later, Miquel is standing in an art gallery looking at the real Lichtenstein painting. He asks the gallerist how much, and she says Adam is such a good customer that she will give him a deal. She will sell it to him for $48 million. Miguel pauses, looks around and asks about another painting.

You don't see which painting Miguel purchases until art installers hang it in Miguel's office, when it's revealed to be a large orange and black misogynistic text artwork. For the first time, we see not only what Miguel does, but who he is.

Off screen, that painting is rumored to be created by Brooklyn artist John Giorni. It is estimated that it would have sold for approximately $3,000 before it was featured on WeCrashed. I am certain that its value has skyrocketed since then - which only makes the storyline even more apt. Does one invest in a tried and true highly profitable company or a start up that just appears to be so? Do you buy the trendy text art or the authenticity of a Lichtenstein? Miguel's decision foreshadows what is soon to come: an IPO disaster. The hollowness of WeWork's mission (to elevate the world's consciousness) is demonstrated by the Cofounders new office decor - which does anything but.