The beginnings of an idea

Money

My money box

I've been recently thinking about the notion of money as an exchange system and how, if society allows it, anything can be used for this symbolic exchange. It makes me wonder what money is worth especially as I've spent most of mine on tuition fees and personal therapy for this course! Now I'm without money I'm thinking more and more that I need money for books and need money for materials...

As I am transforming everyday objects into another transformed object perhaps money should be on my list as an everyday object. I've been reading about the Philosophy of Money, I find this topic so interesting. I'm starting to think I should use money to make art in some way.

I found an interesting article on the Express website on the possible departure of our trusted bank notes as people favour the plastic bankcard. It mentions quite a few interesting facts about bank notes.

Click here to view the website!

One fact which stood out to me was 'the earliest recorded use of paper money is in China around 800 AD although the Chinese abandoned it in the 15th century. The world's oldest known banknote is a Chinese Kuan note from around 1380.' (Express, 2013) So I researched a little into this and found an image of said bank note. I really like the aesthetics of bank notes. I find them so beautiful. I like how we use money all the time but neglect to really look at the marks, not many people know who's portraits are even on English notes! I like how we see them almost everyday but they often go unnoticed. I think I want to bring attention back to our bank notes.

Chinese Kuan note- oldest known banknote (1380)

Bibliography

Bye-bye to the bank note (2013) Express. [online] Available at: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/428725/Bye-bye-to-the-bank-note [Accessed 27 October 2013]

Simmel, G. (2005) The Philosophy of Money: Third enlarged edition. 3rd ed. London and New York. Routledge: Taylor & Francis e-Library. Available at: http://www.eddiejackson.net/web_documents/Philosophy%20of%20Money.pdf [Accessed 27 October 2013]

Kuan note (1380), (2013) [image online] Available at: http://eyeleep.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/strange-currencies-around-world-german.html [Accessed 27 October 2013