Transformoney Tree!

Hello everyone!
As some of you may know, I have been doing a little collaborating with artist DADARA on his money based art projects. Feel free to click here to learn about our on going collaboration!
I wanted to take a moment to share with you his most recent "money" based art project, the "Transformoney Tree".

King Washington (Front)

He is looking for people to help collaborate and donate to the project and it is a really interesting and fun process, so I recommend taking a few moments to check it out!

King Washington (Back)

These Dollar bills are my contribution to the project and if you would like to be inspired by some other cool contributions and learn more about the project, I encourage you to visit this link: "Inspiration"

Duality (Front)

This project is going to be exhibited at the Burning Man Festival 2012 and is the newest addition to the Exchanghibition Bank project. 

Duality (Back)

I hope you decide to make a small contribution, it doesn't take much and can be quite fun! Here is a way to turn the project into a small party! CLICK HERE to find out more!
That's all I wanted to say for now, but I will be back again soon with more to share.
Until next time.

Peace and Love

Exchanghibition Collaboration 2012

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Dutch artist Dadara on his resent visit to Costa Rica.

For those who may not know, I have been collaborating with Dadara overseas for some time now. So it was really nice to meet in person and talk for a bit.

For more information on the collaborative project follow this link: The Art of Turning Art Into Money and Back Into Art Again

Follow this link to learn more about: "Monetary Bondage"

Me (Daniel Icaza: left) and DADARA (right) 

The newest addition to Dadara's "Exchanghibition Bank Project" is the "2012 Money/Art Note". As I have already bonded all the previous "Money/Art Notes" it just felt right to complete the set and "bond" this note as well.

2012 (Pink Side), Daniel Icaza & DADARA, 2012
 Fine Silver, Glass, Sea Shell (Zigzag Scallop), 18ct Pink Corundum, 9ct Green Corundums, 

I always have fun bonding one of Dadara's notes as there is never a shortage of inspiration. It seems that every time I bond one of these notes, I become inspired to try a new approach to my "Money Bonding" process.

2012 (Green Side), Daniel Icaza & DADARA, 2012
 Fine Silver, Glass, Sea Shell (Zigzag Scallop), 18ct Pink Corundum, 9ct Green Corundums,  

This note was no exception. This is the first note I have ever bonded using sheets of glass instead of metal.
I also decided to wire-wrap the assembly together, instead of using rivets or bezels as I have done in the past.

I am really happy with the results and I feel that this is a great addition to the rest of the notes. If you
would like to see a little bit of the other bonded Exchanghibition Bank notes "CLICK HERE".

I am not sure if there will be any future Exchanghibition notes, but I will be sure to post information about where they may be displayed in the future; as they are currently in Dadara's possession to use in conjunction with the Exchanghibition Bank project.

I will be back again soon with more.
Until next time.
Peace and Love

Art as Money Festival!!!

"Monetary Bondage" + "Exchanghibition Bank Notes" on their way to the Netherlands for the "Art as Money Festival"!

Bonded "Exchanghibition Bank Notes"(top to bottom), "Infinity?", "Million?", "Zero? (None)"
By: Daniel Icaza in Collaboration with Dadara  

I am very excited to be able to participate in the "Art as Money Festival". Sadly I wont be able to attend in person but, I have just shipped a box containing a set of Bonded Exhcanghibition Bank Notes to "Dadara". Assuming all goes well in the mail they will be arriving with plenty of time to spare.

The festival will be on February 9th, 2012 at Club Trouw in Amsterdam, if you happen to be in the area you might consider checking out the festival... I know I would ;o)
The festival will be an artistic showcase of money based art projects and includes many interesting lectures and guest speakers. For tickets and more information visit the web site: http://www.artasmoneyfestival.com/

For now its back to the studio for more creating.
I'll be back again as soon as I can to share the new happenings.
Until next time.
Peace and Love

The "Zero/None" is Done!

The conclusion to the Monetary Bondage/ Exchanghibition Bank colaboration has just been posted to the Art As Money blog. CLICK HERE to read the article and view more images of the final piece. 

"Zero" (Money), Daniel Icaza & Dadara, 2011, Fine Silver, Filigree, Exchanghibition Zero Bank Note

I'll be back with a real post soon I promise, until next time.

Peace and Love

Keeping up with the Monetary Bondage/ Exchanghibition Bank Collaboration

 Just wanted to let you know.

The newest update in the "Monetary Bondage", "Exchanghibition Bank" collaboration has just been posted! Please CLICK HERE to read the latest update.
Hope to be back with more soon.
Until next time,
Peace and Love

Collaborative Update

Just a quick post to share the progress on the "Monetary Bondage" / "Exchanghibition" collaboration. My newest guest post on the "ART as MONEY" blog has just been published. Please follow this link "The Art of Turning Art Into Money and Back Again: Part 1: Design" to read the post and keep track of this collaboration. 

To read more about this colaborative project please follow these links:

"The Art of  Turning Art Into Money and Back Into Art Again" 

"The Art of  Turning Art Into Money and Back Again: Part 1: Design" 

Art or Money?

That is the question. All money has to be designed or artistically created at some point, but when does art turn into money and money turn into art? After a few email conversations, I have entered into a sort of collaboration with another "Money Artist" who is asking the same questions, but going about it in a different way. The recently opened Exchanghibition Bank a money based art project (or art based money project?) by artist Dadara will be the source for my next few "money/art?" notes that I will be bonding for "Monetary Bondage".

Me opening envelope

I just received my first few notes today and can't wait to get started with designing the "frames" that will bond these gorgeous bills. I figure special "bills" deserve special treatment, so I am going to try something  new for these "money notes" and hopefully it works out the way I have it envisioned in my head.

This is some truly beautiful and inspiring "money" 

I'll be sure to document the entire transformation (bonding) process and keep you posted on how things progress. It seems the work just keeps piling up, I really gotta start cranking some stuff out, oh well, I guess I really can't complain about having to much "work" these days.
I just want to throw in a quick thank you to Dadara and the Exchangibition Bank for supporting my crazy idea.
I'll be back soon I'm sure, until then,
Peace and Love.

Money Art? Art and Money....

What is art and what is money? When does one turn into the other and vice versa? These are some rather perplexing questions and I enjoy examining those relationships in the art I create. As I am very interested in the relationships between art, money and value, and those are the topics explored in my body of work "Monetary Bondage". I often do research on the topics and discover some interesting things along the way.  

Sadly, one of the first artistic objects that one might stumble across when looking for information on these topics is Damien Hirst's "For the Love of God". This is a widely talked about work of "art", and I would rather not discuss it in great detail. I only mention it as it helps demonstrate the relationship between art, money and value.

Damien Hirst, "For the Love of God"

There are many other artists that are far more deserving of our attention than the artist previously mentioned. My personal approach to the subject of art and money and my personal interest in the topic arises from the "concept" of money and what people value and why? 

Meanwhile investigating these topics I learned about an artist who's work closely resembles my own in concept, but is very different in terms of execution. The "Exchanghibition Bank" is a project by artist Dadara that revolves and almost overlaps my own interests in what people value in terms of "money/art" and why. 

When I first wrote this post (in early 2011), the "Exchanghibition Bank" project was still in development. Since then it has become quite a success, I had the privilege to meet Dadara and even began a collaboration with him as we have a mutual interest in these topics. 

Monetary Bondage + Exchanghibition Bank Collaboration

There has been an ever increasing amount of people and artists taking an interest in these topics. Many of them appear on the "Art as Money Blog" where I originally found out about the "Exchanghibition Bank" project. It has been interesting to see the interest increase (no pun intended), and here are a few of the observations I have made through the years.  

It is fairly obvious to see that financial institutions have continually failed throughout history and continue to do so today, yet people continue to put their faith in money. In today's financial world of digital banking and ridiculous sums of money being thrown around with little consideration, oversight or accountability; one begins to wonder what the heck the money we see on a daily basis, like a dollar bill, is really worth compared to a million, or even a billion, not to mention a trillion dollars. Sums of money we can't begin to imagine. It becomes difficult to imagine because the majority of money today exists only in theory inside computer banks (This always boggles my mind) so what is our money really worth, I mean when was the last time you saw a trillion dollars in real life??? What a Trillion Dollars Looks Like!! 

Art, money or both; is there a difference? Only you can be the judge...
(100 Dollars? : Daniel Icaza)  

Sums of money like this usually don't exist in single physical places (if they exist at all) which is what makes objects like Damien Hirst's "For the Love of God" so intriguing. Theoretically nothing in the world can really match its material worth, but whether or not the monetary cost of a piece of art makes it a "good" or "successful" piece of art is up to every individual viewer. I know I ask myself on a daily bases why a one dollar bill is worth less than a hundred dollar bill simply because of a design change?
It is my hope that by creating art that questions the value and concept of money; mankind can move onto a more logical form of economy. For this reason it brings me great joy to see artists like Dadara creating art that challenges our concepts of value and money.

Think I could buy a coke with this?
 ("Quarter Dollar?" By: Daniel Icaza)

Thank you for taking an interest in these topics and I wish you all the best on your path of discovery. If you have anything interesting or relevant to share, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Until next time peace and love to all the fellow travellers. ;o)