Banknote Works
2021–

The banknote works are Blind Collage works produced from paper currency in circulation at the time of their making. Like the Blind Collage newspaper works, the compositions are produced with a circular rotary mat cutter and are based upon the overall dimensions of the material. Each circular-cut section is rotated 180 degrees and reattached to the banknote from the back using clear tape. The composition of the works is consistent across series and currencies. The circular cuts and reattachment of the circular sections is done while the object is face down, thus the procedure of cuts and rotations is done while the front surface of the work is obscured. Gaps between the successive rings of the collage are often unavoidable due to the shifting conditions under which the works are produced, exposing some of the adhesive tape. 22 karat gold leaf is applied to the exposed adhesive to protect the collage from further rips and tears during handling, and to draw attention to the moments of misregistration and human error as a form of unconscious composition that arises during the application of a programmatic set of operations. The works are unique by nature (since the currency not only has a unique serial number on its face, but also is subject to other notations that make it traceable) and produced in an endless series.

Value and Representation:

The banknote works take sanctioned certificates of value as a ready-made material, and further make the value of these artworks immediately transparent (the collages are priced at one hundred times the particular banknote’s face value); the tensions between raw material value and representations of value are a key element of the work. The works depict an aesthetic of trust which fuels an economy, faith in the national banknote (which were once backed by gold or other precious specie), and further allow reflection on how various countries represent those ideas of trust. Each banknote, like each newspaper, presents itself as a contract with the organization it represents, and further communicates its values through its formal design choices. This is all meant to produce trust in a view/reader/user, whether that trust is in the information it provides (as in a newspaper) or as a holder of transactive value (as applies to the banknote), constituting a form of social contract with its would-be user.

Titling Convention:

The unique title for each work notes the bank of origin, face value, the banknote’s official serial number, and the number of the work within each specific series (indicating where the work lies in the series of works produced from its noted currency and face value); additional identifiable information printed on the banknote is listed when available, including any security, design, or production information. For instance, a banknote produced by the United States Federal Reserve System includes information on what year it was printed, the Federal Reserve bank that ordered its issuance, its printing location, the printing plate identifiers used in its production, and its specific serial number. The date attributed to the work is the year of its first exhibition. A final description of the work, for example one that would appear on a wall didactic in an exhibition space, might read: 

Blind Collage (Three 180º Rotations, United States Federal Reserve One-Dollar Note: Series 2017, Issued by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Illinois, Printed in Fort Worth, Texas, Plate Position I5, Front Plate No. 48, Back Plate No. 49, Serial No. G27970846D, #2)
2021
United States Federal Reserve one-dollar note, tape, and 22 karat gold leaf
6 1/8 x 2 9/16 inches

Here annotated:
Blind Collage (Three 180º Rotations [number of cut rotations], United States Federal Reserve One-Dollar Note [bank of origin and face-value]: Series 2017 [year of printing], Issued by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Illinois [bank of issuance], Printed in Fort Worth, Texas [location of printing], Plate Position I5, Front Plate No. 48, Back Plate No. 49 [printing plate identifiers including location on the printing plate], Serial No. G27970846D [official serial number of the banknote], #2 [number in the specific series of works])
2021 [date of first exhibition]
United States Federal Reserve one-dollar note, tape, and 22 karat gold leaf [media]
6 1/8 x 2 9/16 inches [dimensions]

Click here for a complete list of issued Banknote serial numbers