Mark Wagner Gives All Other Currency Artists A Run For Their Money

At the moment, tattoo artist Scott Campbell's cut currency seems to be the most blogged about and cited artwork when it comes to cut up money. And artist Hanna von Goeler paints upon United States currency. But it's the work of artist Mark Wagner that I find the most impressive. Using only $1 bills, Mark creates extraordinary 'currency collages'.

Mark's currency collages are a sight to behold. The dedication, composition and cutting up of one dollar bills to create intricate detailed tapestry-like posters is simply astounding. It is amazing what Wagner can create with the limited palette of colors, shapes and subjects from the two color inked engraved dollar bills.

Here are some of my favorites.

~Jen

About the Artist:
Mark Wagner was born quietly in the rural Midwest at the tail end of thirteen children. Since leaving the sandbox at the age of fourteen, he has continued his creative career in the fields of writing, collage, and bookmaking. He is co-founder of The Booklyn Artists Alliance, and has published books under the name Bird Brain Press and X-ing Books.
Wagner's work is collected by dozens of institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, The Walker Art Center, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution. It has shown at The Metropolitan Museum, The Getty Research Institute, and The Brooklyn Museum.

The Artist's Statement About His Currency Collages:
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.

Mark Wagner website