Mark Wagner on Money Existence
on Sunday, January 19, 2014Mark Wagner Money Quotation saying that use of money in collage art makes us examine the real value of currency. Mark Wagner said:
“The object in question is essentially just a piece of paper. Money and currency don’t actually exist in the real world, they’re just something that we’ve made up” — Mark Wagner
Mark Wagner seems to be making a philosophical point about the nature of money and currency. By saying that money is “just a piece of paper” and that its value is something “we’ve made up”, he’s arguing that monetary systems are socially constructed rather than having intrinsic worth. Money only has meaning and power in society because people have agreed and legislated that it does, not because paper bills or coins have value on their own.
His point appears to be that currency is an abstract human invention without real-world substance, since paper and metal only represent purchasing ability through shared belief rather than inherent properties. The quote suggests money only exists conceptually in economic and legal frameworks, not materially, challenging common perceptions of it as a tangible commodity rather than a social construct.
Overall, Wagner seems to be commenting on the subjective and fabricated nature of currency systems.