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“A Transcendent Financial Analysis: Art, Currency, and Presidential Legacy”

by Johanna Taylor

Curated by Baseera KhanJanuary 21 – March 7, 2009BRIC Rotunda Gallery

ANAIS DALY

FINE ART ADOPTION NETWORK

FUNDRED DOLLAR BILL PROJECT

DAVID GREG HARTH

JONATHAN HERDER

JESÚS JIMÉNEZ

JON KESSLER

ANISSA MACK

PETER SIMENSKY

MARK WAGNER

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A New Deal, Art and Currency high-

lights relationships between Ameri-

can presidents and the economy,

while observing how these relation-

ships affect art-making. This exhibi-

tion takes its name from the social

and economic reforms implemented

by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the

1930s. For better or worse, each pres-

ident affects the course and stabil-

ity of the economy, and likewise, the

changing economy affects the stability and reputation of each president.

Artists in this exhibition play within the space of literal and imagined

artifacts of currency and alternative methods of exchange to push social

protest and reconsider material value. The participating artists deal with

manipulating and erasing, recreating, bartering and exchanging, collect-

ing and commemorating, all to address these intrinsic relationships.

Baseera KhanCurator

M A R K W A G N E RBuying the Brooklyn Bridge, 2008

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A Transcendent Financial Analysis: Art, Currency, and Presidential Legacy Johanna Taylor

T he world is in constant transition. While some things are imme-

diately forgotten, others become entrenched in collective memory.

Individuals may leave distinct impressions of personality traits or

talents just as time periods are remembered by economic, social, or histor-

ical landmarks. Presidents and other political leaders are iconic examples

of how our fickle collective consciousness dictates the lasting historical re-

cord. Often, the success or failure of the economy and its influence on so-

cial welfare of citizens

determines presiden-

tial legacy. The artists

in A New Deal, Art

and Currency address

personal connections

to historical figures,

nation, currency, and

exchange, through a

range of art practices.

Some artists reference physical paper currency as a point of inspiration,

using it either as the subject of their work or the media for creation. These

artists strip currency of its economic value and place it at the core of their

art practice to expose a new aesthetic form.

D A V I D G R E G H A R T HI AM OIL, 2006

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J esús Jiménez photographs stacks of Mexican peso bills at extreme-

ly close range so that the distinguishing details of the bills are not

disclosed. Each photograph in the series is titled in reference to the

amount of currency in the stack: $8,080.00, $33,066.00, $2,173.00. Jimé-

nez has a personal and experiential connection to the bills depicted in

$100,000 Dollars. Mexican workers in the United States sent this money to

their families in Michoacán, Mexico, where Jiménez was born and raised.

Jiménez photographed the money right after its recipients exchanged it

for Mexican pesos. The staged moments are captured in time, remain-

ing stagnant even though the currency likely returned to circulation soon

after they were photographed. Through Jiménez’s intensely focused im-

J E S Ú S J I M É N E Z$100,000 Dollars, 2006

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ages, the multicolored stack of money transcends its role facilitating the

economy to become an aesthetic wonder at close range.

S ince the 1980s, Jon Kessler has studied American mass-media’s

obsession with violence, fame, disaster, and sex. He extends his

infatuation with this subject matter in a recent, ongoing series of

works on paper. Kessler creates portraits by appropriating images found

in fashion, popular culture, and political media sources and collages them

together. These recent works pointedly question America’s obsession with

power and the prolific images of violence and objectification in the media.

In Couple (2008), Kessler collages shredded U.S. bills, making money

central to his appropriation

process. By shredding the

bills, he renders them use-

less in the monetary econo-

my. By adding manipulated

currency as artistic medium,

Kessler defaces his appro-

priated mass-media images

with government-sanctioned

printed material that simul-

taneously exploits his subject

further while reigning in the

faces below. As a whole, the

series confronts the issues

within the mass media that

threaten to undermine the

American democratic system.

J O N K E S S L E RCouple, 2008

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W idely recognized for his currency collages, Mark Wagner

(illustration, page 2) uses fragments of government-issued

currency to form related socio-political narrative works on pa-

per. Wagner mines the dollar bill for material, appropriating its symbols,

perception in society, and monochrome color palette. Often he selects

historical icons, mythological tales, as well as historical symbols from

art and architecture as his subjects. Buying the Brooklyn Bridge (2008) re-

imagines George Washington, positioning him as a sailor crossing the

Brooklyn Bridge while two hands jointly grasp either end of a bill in the

foreground of the image. The collage transforms the dollar bill from a

mere economic pawn into representational imagery that entices the view-

er to question our perceptions of currency and its relational significance

to history, culture, and art.

American presidents are figureheads in our collective memory. Through-

out A New Deal, artists reference presidents and other iconic political fig-

ures in U.S. history in celebration of their lives and contribution to creat-

ing our contemporary society.

Anais Daly recreated to scale Abra-

ham Lincoln’s tomb, a memorial to

the great American president and

a symbol of inspiration. The mausoleum at

Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois,

houses Lincoln, his wife Mary and three of

their four sons. Sculptor Larkin Meade de-

signed the tomb which features Lincoln statu-

ary and a central obelisk. Daly fabricated her

monument out of plaster and drywall cast in

the form of individual Scrabble letter pieces,

Lincoln Tomb, 1860–74. Courtesy David Blanchette, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

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meticulously placed next to one another to spell out quotes from Western

philosophers.

Language was an invalu-

able instrument for Lin-

coln and remains critical

to future generations in

understanding his lega-

cy. The Lincoln Memo-

rial in Washington, D.C.,

is inscribed with two of

Lincoln’s speeches and

has served as the back-

drop for countless other

orators including Mar-

tin Luther King, Jr. By

encasing the tomb in

Scrabble letter-spelled quotations, Daly has made an intensely personal

commemoration to the Great Emancipator that inspires others to utilize

language towards affecting social change.

W ith equal attention dedicated to historical accuracy and phila-

telic devotion, Jonathan Herder’s Stampology series collages

fragmented postage stamps primarily from the 1940s through

1970s to create idealized historical windows. Stamps are a governmentally

sanctioned form of currency, purchased with money, and accredited with

value to sends mail. Herder is devoted to his source material, and strives

to maintain a similar level of idealism inherent in stamp design. In 1809

(2008) Herder plots major events of the year on a timeline, matching im-

ages appropriated from stamps with text and additional drawings to cre-

A N A I S D A LY Tomb of The Great Emancipator, with quotes from different figureheads (detail), 2008

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ate an image reminiscent of a grade-school history textbook. Along the

timeline Herder includes the dates of Edgar Allen Poe’s birth, the Loui-

siana Purchase, and the first abdominal operation in the United States.

Each entry references Abraham Lincoln in someway: the patient to receive

the abdominal operation

was Lincoln’s cousin, the

first Louisiana Purchase

explorer was killed by a

shot to the head like Lin-

coln. Without mentioning

it directly on the timeline,

Herder created 1809 in

honor of Lincoln, who was

born on February 12, 1809.

Anissa Mack’s Fail-

ure is Impossible

(2008) is a tribute

to Susan B. Anthony and

all who battled for wom-

en’s suffrage. The title ref-

erences a well-known line

from Anthony’s last public speech, made on her 86th birthday in 1906.

Anthony died six months later, not living to see The Nineteenth Amend-

ment ratified in 1920. She was immortalized on a U.S. dollar coin in 1979,

inspiring the then eight year-old Mack. The coin, however, was not well

accepted by the broader public due to its physical similarities to the quarter,

and after only two years the U.S. Mint was left with hundreds of millions

of them in its vaults. Mack has proposed an alternate commemorative use

for the coin as if to make up for the Treasury’s failure, using the child-

hood best-friend necklace as a vehicle to forever honor Susan B. Anthony’s

legacy and impart hope for future generations.

Mack has taken the dejected coin, divided it in two along a jagged line, and

strung each half on a silver chain. The necklaces are useable sculptures,

worn by two people to for-

ever join them together in

honor of social struggles

in general and Susan B.

Anthony’s in particular.

Displayed on a blue vel-

vet background, Mack has

reclaimed the unsuccess-

ful coin for its original

intention: to honor Susan

B. Anthony because with

such a worthy cause as

hers, indeed failure was

indeed impossible.

Other artists in A New

Deal act as entrepreneurs

by creating new philanthropic enterprises. These systems manipulate ex-

isting methods of exchange to spread social messages to society at large.

D avid Greg Harth uses U.S. paper currency as a platform to

circulate printed statements to a wide audience through the

existing exchange system. Beginning with I AM AMERICA in

1998, Harth creates limited-edition series of bills stamped with specific

messages that underscore a global, national, or personal theme of the

moment. Other messages include I AM STATE, I AM NOT CHURCH,

J O N AT H A N H E R D E R1809, 2008

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I AM ART, I AM OIL (illustration, page 3), and I AM VOTING. The bill

I AM NOT TERRORIZED was released along with I AM NOT AFRAID

just after September 11, 2001 and has become the largest edition note

with over one million actual bills in circulation. Every December 1, Harth

releases the combination notes I AM HIV+ and I AM HIV– in recogni-

tion of World AIDS Day.

Harth’s stamped bank notes are circulated through the national exchange

system as the artist trades them with other people and spends them like

any other bill. He exchanges clean bills for stamped currency with friends

and strangers, and often supplies them with ink pads and rubber stamps

so that bills multiply across the country. He innovatively makes use of

the commonly understood trade system to spread messages among large

numbers of unsuspecting recipients.

A N I S S A M A C KFailure is Impossible, 2008

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The Fundred Dollar Bill Project is also based in manipulat-

ing the ubiquitous system of currency exchange to achieve social

awareness and potentially, social change. Artist and activist Mel

Chin spearheaded this national project in 2006 to help rebuild New Or-

leans and make it safer

for residents. New Or-

leans is one of the most

lead-polluted cities in the

U.S., a condition further

aggravated by Hurricane

Katrina. Lead is danger-

ous when immersed in

the bloodstream, but a

chemical solution exists

that can neutralize the

affect of lead exposure.

This ameliorative solu-

tion has been success-

fully implemented in in-

dustrial sites and is being

refined for inhabited areas. This Fundred Dollar Bill Project seeks to raise

the necessary funds through a national effort to support the aptly named

Operation Paydirt solution.

Collectively, the Fundred Dollar Bill Project is a unique artwork comprised

of millions of individual drawings by children across the United States.

Young artists create a Fundred Dollar Bill, cumulatively producing $300

million Fundred Dollars that will be taken to Congress in an armored truck

powered on recycled vegetable oil from school cafeterias. Congress will be

asked to match “dollar for dollar” in order to fund Operation Paydirt.

F U N D R E D D O L L A R B I L L P R O J E C TPS 119 student Fundred Operative at work, 2008Photograph by Hawley Hussey

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BRIC Rotunda Gallery’s Education Program staff serves as Fundred Dollar

Bill Project operatives. Students at BRIC Rotunda’s partner school PS 119,

The Magnet School for Global and Ethical Studies in Midwood, are creat-

ing Fundreds; the school is also a safehouse for Fundreds created around

Brooklyn, and will be one of the collection stops that the armored truck

makes on its way to Washington D.C. in fall 2009.

P eter Simensky has also created his own form of currency that

simultaneously critiques and engages the art market. Simensky

creates his own paper currency, Neutral Capital, by collaging ap-

propriated images from currencies of over fifty failing world economies.

Neutral Capital acquires value through exchange in the art market, which

first occurred when the bank notes were traded for other artwork at the

2005 Armory Show in New York. Inspired by corporate art collections and

his experience at the Armory Show, Simensky began to exchange Neutral

P E T E R S I M E N S K YNeutral Capital Collection II, 2007

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Capital for other artists’ work to form the Neutral Capital Collection. A

mobile gallery box displays the collection of artwork by international art-

ists including Patty Chang, Ohad Meromi, and Allison Smith purchased

with Neutral Capital.

T he web-based Fine Art Adoption Network (FAAN) has also es-

tablished a unique barter system within the art market in which

currency has no role and art appreciation equates to wealth. The

New York alternative space Art in General commissioned artist Adam Si-

mon to create FAAN in 2006, which has sponsored 384 successful adop-

tions. FAAN presents artwork online by artists across the world, display-

ing up to six works available for adoption. Once a viewer grows attached

to an artwork, they contact the artist with a request for adoption that

includes a filled-in questionnaire. Ultimately, the artist decides who re-

ceives the work, or if the work will be adopted at all. FAAN challenges the

typical collection process with an alternate exchange method that makes

traditionally requisite monetary wealth obsolete. It also provides artists

with the opportunity

to connect with their

collectors on a person-

al level that is more

difficult through the

established dealer/

gallery system. FAAN

is helping to create a

larger, broader group

of art collectors that

truly appreciate art

and the artist.

F I N E A R T A D O P T I O N N E T W O R KFine Art Adoption Network (screenshot), 2006-ongoing

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E X H I B I T I O N C H E C K L I S TAll works courtesy of the artist unless otherwise noted.

F U N D R E D D O L L A R B I L L P R O J E C T 2006-ongoingwww.fundred.org

Fundred Dollar Bills by Class 5-305, PS119, The Magnet School for Global and Ethical Studies, Midwood, Brooklyn Mixed-media on paper 2½ x 6 inches ea.

A N A I S D A LY

Tomb of The Great Emancipator, with quotes from different figureheads, 2008Plaster and drywall42 x 80 x 49 inches

D A V I D G R E G H A R T H

I AM SERIES, 1998-2007 Seventeen prints, ink on U.S. currency note2½ x 6 inches ea.

J O N AT H A N H E R D E R

1809, 2008Stamp collage, and ink on paper9 x 20 inches

Courtesy of Pierogi, Brooklyn

Battling Postage Stamps, 1997Stamp collage, watercolor, and dye on paper11 x 41½ inches

Courtesy of Pierogi, Brooklyn

J E S Ú S J I M É N E Z

$100,000 Dollars, 2006 Sent by Mexican workers from the U.S. to Michoacán, Mexico. Photographed after being exchanged for Mexican pesos in Caja Majapara, Morelia, Michoacán, México. Poliptych, digital photographs16 x 20 inches ea.

J O N K E S S L E R

Couple, 2008Pigment, paper pulp, U.S. currency, and magazine on handmade paper20 x 16 inches

Courtesy of Dieu Donné, New York

A N I S S A M A C K

Failure is Impossible, 2008 Susan B. Anthony dollar, silver chains, and velvet 9½ x 10½ inches ea.

Courtesy of the artist and Small A Projects, New York

P E T E R S I M E N S K Y

Neutral Capital Collection II, 2007Portable art collection and gallery in collapsible shipping crateIncludes works by Charlotte Beckett, Patty Chang, Jennifer Cohen, Rachel Foullon, James Hyde, Daniel Lefcourt, Michael Mahalchick, Ohad Meromi, Carter Mull, Adam Putnam, Allison Smith, Meredyth Sparks, The Invisible Glove (Center for Tactical Magic)Variable dimensions

Neutral Capital 500 (Conjurers), 2008Collaged currencies4½ x 7¾ inches ea.

F I N E A R T A D O P T I O N N E T W O R K

Fine Art Adoption Network,2006-ongoingWeb projectwww.fineartadoption.net

Courtesy of Adam Simon and Art in General, New York

M A R K W A G N E R

Buying the Brooklyn Bridge, 2008Collage made of U.S. currency30 x 20 inches

Collection of Tim and Stephanie IngrassiaCourtesy Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York

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33 Clinton StBrooklyn, NY 11201briconline.org/rotunda

647 Fulton StreetBrooklyn, NY 11217briconline.org

BRIC Rotunda Gallery presents contemporary art, public events and an

innovative arts education program. The Gallery’s aim is to increase the

visibility and accessibility of contemporary art while bridging the gap be-

tween the art world and global culture in Brooklyn. BRIC Rotunda Gallery

is the visual arts program of BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn, a multi-disciplin-

ary arts and media non-profit, dedicated to presenting visual, performing

and media arts programs that are reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse commu-

nities and to supporting the creative process.

Director of Visual Arts Programs

Elizabeth Ferrer

Education Director

Hawley Hussey

Education Coordinator

Angela Earley

Gallery Manager

Baseera Khan

Development & Marketing Associate

Johanna Taylor

Executive Director, BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn

Leslie Schultz

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Support for the Gallery’s exhibition and public programs has been generously

provided by

The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, and the Robert Lehman Foundation, in addition to numerous individuals.

The Gallery recognizes additional public support from

The National Endowment for the Arts; the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development; New York City Council members Lewis Fidler, Vincent Gentile, and Al Vann; Assemblymember Joan Millman; State Senator Martin Connor; and the Brooklyn delegations of the New York State Assembly and Senate.

This publication was made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation.