Artist Turns Cash Money Into Visual Gold

What's This?

By Quenton Narcisse2013-08-12 15:09:03 UTC

Brooklyn artist Mark Wagner has a special relationship with his money. Recognized for his phenomenal collages that incorporate hundreds — sometimes thousands — of $1 bills, Wagner creates monetary masterpieces that highlight his meticulous attention to detail.

Good ol' George Washington inspired Wagner to create collages of scenic landscapes, historical figures and eccentric animals (even the famous American Gothic gets some shine.) Some of the tallest portraits stand at four feet.

Wagner's website describes the project as such:

The one dollar bill is the most ubiquitous piece of paper in America. Collage asks the question: what might be done to make it something else? It is a ripe material: intaglio printed on sturdy linen stock, covered in decorative filigree, and steeped in symbolism and concept. Blade and glue transform it-reproducing the effects of tapestries, paints, engravings, mosaics, and computers—striving for something bizarre, beautiful, or unbelievable... the foreign in the familiar.

Wagner's upcoming art exhibition, Money, Power, Sex & Mark Wagner, will premiere at the Pavel Zoubok Gallery in New York City next month. The showcase is scheduled to run from Sept. 6 to Oct. 5.

Below, check out the time lapse video of Wagner creating one of his collages from scratch.

Images: Mark Wagner

Topics: currency collages, Pics, Watercooler