JSG BOGGS: MONEY FOR ART'S SAKE
I've had this article for a while. I'm posting it, but I can't remember where I got it from or who wrote it! Stay tuned for my intro. I hope you find it all interesting if not fascinating.
J.S.G. Boggs
I want to write a little bit about the artist James Stephen George Boggs. I’d have to call him a conceptual artist as well as a superior draftsman. All his artwork is money and is about money. He’s an artist/philosopher. His thoughts about money are intriguing, and for me undeniable. He calls the use of money an act of faith. We all are to believe that the piece of paper that is money is actually worth what it says on the bill. We take that on faith, and so we can buy stuff. That’s the conceit, and society depends on everybody going along with the plan. Let me insert here that I really don’t understand why if people need more money the government doesn’t just print more money. I know that’s not supposed to work, but no one has ever convinced me as to why. Anyway, what Boggs does in his artwork is play with the notion of money and what it stands for and what you can do with it. Basically, he draws money extremely accurately, but always with a twist, then tries to buy a product or service with the bill he has drawn, using it for the face value. He doesn’t sell his artwork/money directly – the bill has to be exchanged for goods or services, and a receipt given.
J. S. G. Boggs | Five Dollar Bill
It all started when Boggs was in Chicago in 1984, having coffee and a doughnut, doodling. In the end his doodle evolved into a stylized dollar bill that his waitress asked to buy from him because she liked it so much. Boggs said no thanks, but later asked for his check, which was ninety cents. He suggested that he’d like to use his “dollar bill” to pay the check, and that he’d want his change of a dime. She was thrilled, and so was Boggs. A new world had opened for him.
J. S. G. Boggs | Tan Dollar Bill
Although Boggs showed his work in galleries, the whole adventure became to see what exchanges could be made for his Bills. His biggest successes were in Basel, Switzerland (hey, I was in a group show there in 1980!) which for him upset the notion that the Swiss are stodgy and uptight. As his attempts went on, though, a parallel world was evolving. There were collectors who had a network of informers notify them when Boggs made a successful exchange of a Bill for something. Immediately mysterious representatives would swoop in on the person holding the newly-acquired Bill, offering thousands of dollars for an original Boggs along with the receipt and change, for authenticity. As one could imagine, the person with the Boggs Bill would be amazed. Some would sell and some wouldn’t, suddenly understanding that they now owned a significant work of art.
J. S. G. Boggs | Receipt for an exchange
Boggs has tried, often unsuccessfully, to buy meals, art supplies, a ticket to the Museum of Modern Art, a six-pack of beer, and so on. When his ploy didn’t work, it was usually the case that although the person he dealt with admired the drawing of a bill, and knew that it was worth far more than what Boggs was trying to buy, he or she was just a lowly employee, not the owner or manager, and so had to take real money. Oh, those lowly employees. Things didn’t always go perfectly for Boggs, though. He was arrested for forgery by Scotland Yard, was tried at the Old Bailey by a jury, but ultimately found not guilty. Whew. Scary.
Money for art’s sake indeed. #whalepower
For more on JSG Boggs:
http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1999/Articles0999/JBoggsA.html
http://www.pennylicious.com/2006/08/22/jsg-boggs-art-money/
http://artsociety.suite101.com/article.cfm/jsg_boggs_counterfeit_art
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99jul/9907moneyartist.htm http://reason.com/archives/2000/10/01/the-art-of-the-deal
http://www.youngmoney.com/personalities/Boggs/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/egg/flash/2171/2171.html
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/coin-collecting/paper-money-faq/section-19.html
I enjoyed reading this post ...very interesting. .upvoted and I resteemed it ..to make sure more people get to see it too :) :)