Draws his own money - Boggs - performance art

http://www.lies.com/wp/2004/08/25/js...y-he-draws-it/

He goes to some retail establishment or restaurant and tries to get the
clerk or waitress or whatever to accept, in lieu of actual payment, a
hand-drawn bill, signed by him, for the amount he owes. He explains
that all artwork's valuation is more or less arbitrary, so he has set
the value of his artwork at the face value of whatever bill he's
reproducing.

More often than you'd think, the clerk or waitress agrees to the
deal, which is where it gets interesting. He then takes the receipt and
gives it to one of the many collectors of his work, who in turn tracks
down the bill's recipient and buys it, often at many times the face
value.

"noteworthy" wrote in message
oups.com...
http://www.lies.com/wp/2004/08/25/js...y-he-draws-it/

He goes to some retail establishment or restaurant and tries to get the
clerk or waitress or whatever to accept, in lieu of actual payment, a
hand-drawn bill, signed by him, for the amount he owes. He explains
that all artwork's valuation is more or less arbitrary, so he has set
the value of his artwork at the face value of whatever bill he's
reproducing.

More often than you'd think, the clerk or waitress agrees to the
deal, which is where it gets interesting. He then takes the receipt and
gives it to one of the many collectors of his work, who in turn tracks
down the bill's recipient and buys it, often at many times the face
value.


Here's an image of mine.

http://members.aol.com/bfadington/boggs.jpg

It's a bit small but it's the only image I have.

FYI,

There's a very good book on this guy. See my review below:

Boggs: A Comedy of Values by Lawrence Weschler

This book follows the twisted tale of the trials of J.S.G. Boggs, an artist
who creates fanciful reproductions of world currency--by hand!--and then
"spends" his artwork to buy real things. You'll be amazed at the beauty of
Boggs' bills, laugh at the reactions he encounters as he tries to convince
shop owners to accept his creations in lieu of currency, and cry at the
heavy-handed tactics employed by the Secret Service and Bank of England to
put a stop to his shenanigans. Along the way you'll learn about the long
history of reproducing currency in fine art, and come to question the very
nature of "value" as it applies to both art and money.

If you want to order from Amazon.com, follow this link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/IS...3952/oweninkA/


On 3/8/06 5:08 AM, in article
, "noteworthy"
wrote:

http://www.lies.com/wp/2004/08/25/js...fashioned-way-
he-draws-it/

He goes to some retail establishment or restaurant and tries to get the
clerk or waitress or whatever to accept, in lieu of actual payment, a
hand-drawn bill, signed by him, for the amount he owes. He explains
that all artwork's valuation is more or less arbitrary, so he has set
the value of his artwork at the face value of whatever bill he's
reproducing.

More often than you'd think, the clerk or waitress agrees to the
deal, which is where it gets interesting. He then takes the receipt and
gives it to one of the many collectors of his work, who in turn tracks
down the bill's recipient and buys it, often at many times the face
value.