Posts Tagged ‘mark wagner’
Mark Wagner: IOU Made of Money
on Saturday, November 7, 2015Money collage artist Mark Wagner asking the question – if you create a work of art (titled I.O.U.) from money, is the debt considered repayed? Mark Wagner said:
“If you make an IOU out of money for a friend, do you still owe them money?” — Mark Wagner
In this quote, Mark Wagner seems to be posing a philosophical question about the nature of debt and the role of currency. By asking if an IOU (I Owe You) made from physical money still constitutes a financial obligation, he’s prompting consideration of how monetary instruments represent value. Some key points in his question:
- Money is generally used to settle debts, but what if the money itself becomes the IOU or debt instrument?
- Does tearing a dollar bill transform it from a store of value into an acknowledgment of a favor or loan between friends?
- If currency is just a social construct without intrinsic worth, as his previous quotes suggested, does manipulating its physical form change the underlying financial agreement?
Overall, Wagner appears to be exploring how monetary transactions are symbolic exchanges, challenging notions of money as an absolute measure of debt. The quote encourages thought on where obligations reside – in the physical currency itself, or in the social relationships and agreements between individuals.
Collage Artist Mark Wagner on Money as Art
on Saturday, May 17, 2014Below are comments made by Paper Collage Artist Mark Wagner about his money collage art, work that makes us look more closely at currency. The video directly below has none of the quotes, but features Wagner talking to CBS Sunday Morning about his art. The quotes come from the second video on the page below from Avant Garde Diaries, titled “Money is Material”:
“The taboo around destroying a dollar bill makes people pay more attention to what … I’m doing than if I was using any other piece of paper”
“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”
“Sometimes I stop thinking of it as a dollar bill, I just think about it as materials. I have to remind myself sometimes that it’s worth money”
“It’s basically the most popular piece of paper on the planet”
“The dollar bill is ostensibly the most successful publication ever printed” – Mark Wagner
Mark Wagner on Dollar Bill as Materials
on Thursday, January 23, 2014Mark Wagner Money Quotation saying about dollar bills, that as a paper collage artist he uses dollars as artistic medium and the message. Mark Wagner said:
“Sometimes I stop thinking of it as a dollar bill, I just think about it as materials. I have to remind myself sometimes that it’s worth money” — Mark Wagner
In this quote, Richard Wagner seems to be saying that at times when he is working on creative projects, he stops viewing money primarily as currency and instead thinks of it more abstractly as the “materials” needed to bring his visions to life.
He suggests that in the flow of creating, he can forget for a moment that the resources he is using like equipment, supplies or studio space actually represent dollar values.
Wagner has to periodically “remind” himself that the materials, tools and assets required for his work in fact have monetary worth that must be accounted for.
His quote implies that when deeply engaged in the artistic process, he is more focused on the practical implementation than the financial aspects, and needs occasional reminders to bring his mind back to the economic realities of funding his work.
Mark Wagner on Dollars as Popular Paper
on Wednesday, January 22, 2014Mark Wagner Money Quotation saying the popularity of the dollar bill is greater than any other piece of printed paper in the world. Mark Wagner said:
“It’s basically the most popular piece of paper on the planet” — Mark Wagner
In this quote, Mark Wagner seems to be making an observation about money and currency. By referring to money as “the most popular piece of paper on planet”, he is highlighting how ubiquitous and widely used paper money is in global society and commerce.
Despite being a simple physical object, paper currency has become the most prevalent medium of exchange around the world, serving as the standard form that most financial transactions and stores of value take.
Wagner appears to be commenting on the irony of how much power, influence and importance something as basic as printed paper can hold, due simply to its role as a shared symbol of purchasing ability.
The quote reflects on how much control over economic systems something so physically inconsequential as bills and notes have gained, due to their widespread social acceptance as representations of wealth.
Mark Wagner: Destroy Dollar Bills
on Tuesday, January 21, 2014Mark Wagner Money Quotation saying the value of his paper collage art is altered by the currency paper used to create it. Mark Wagner said:
“The taboo around destroying a dollar bill makes people pay more attention to what … I’m doing than if I was using any other piece of paper” — Mark Wagner
Mark Wagner seems to be making a statement about how taboos or controversial acts can draw more attention than conventional behaviors. By destroying a dollar bill, which is generally seen as unacceptable to damage, he knows it will provoke a stronger reaction from viewers than if he was manipulating a normal piece of paper.
The taboo or social prohibition around harming currency means people will pay closer attention to his actions simply because it breaks an established rule or norm. His point appears to be that violating expectations or societal restrictions is an effective way to command notice and focus observers on one’s message or artistic expression.
The quote suggests controversy itself can be an attention-grabbing tool for artists.
Mark Wagner on Dollars as Successful Publication
on Monday, January 20, 2014Mark Wagner Money Quotation saying more dollar bills are printed than any other publication printed on paper. Mark Wagner said:
“The dollar bill is ostensibly the most successful publication ever printed” — Mark Wagner
In this quote, Mark Wagner is drawing an analogy between dollar bills and publications or printed media. By calling the dollar bill “the most successful publication ever printed”, he’s highlighting how widely circulated and impactful paper money has become globally as a medium for transmitting information and ideas.
Just as popular magazines, newspapers and books spread messages through mass production and distribution, currency disseminates the core concepts that underpin modern economic systems – value, exchange, debt – to virtually every person on earth through widespread use.
Wagner appears to be commenting on the immense reach and influence that paper money has as a vehicle for propagating the basic functions and principles of commerce. The quote reflects on how the dollar bill, through its role at the foundation of financial transactions, might qualify as the most pervasive and impactful printed form of communication in history due to its universal circulation.
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.