<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Money is often defined as a medium of exchange, but to some artists money is simply a medium—or set of materials—that they can use to create works of art. Artists have treated the flat surfaces of coins and two-dimensional banknotes as canvases for artistic expression, leaving the monetary object intact but changing its original design. For example, the National Numismatic Collection holds a nickel from 1937 that an artist modified to transform the image of an American Indian into a skeleton, as well as a ten cent banknote from 1874 in which an artist has satirically altered the portrait of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William M. Meredith.</p><p><img alt="A coin that looks to be made of some kind of bronze. On it, there is carved a skull with a Native American hairstyle and feathers. "1937" can barely be seen on the figure's shoulder." class="auto-caption media-image img__fid__19546 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" longdesc="" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/blog_image/public/carved-skeleton_sm.jpg?itok=npTUuhmw" style="width: 550px; height: 414px;" title="Modified coin, United States, early 21st century. Donated by Jay L. DeBoer."><br><img alt="A piece of paper currency that says it is from the US but does not look like anything we use today. There is a figure in fancy, centuries-old garb on the left side. The man has a dour-looking face. There are various seals, signatures, and details like "Fractional Currency" on it." class="auto-caption media-image img__fid__19547 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/blog_image/public/modified-note_sm.jpg?itok=EYKP6Vk3" style="width: 550px; height: 362px;" title="Modified ten cent note, United States, around 1874. Donated by The Chase Manhattan Bank."></p><p>The National Numismatic Collection recently acquired some new objects that reflect how artists use banknotes as building blocks to create new three-dimensional shapes and figures. Ron Rotter is an origami artist from Wisconsin, but instead of using typical rice or mulberry origami paper, he folds U.S. paper money (made from a mixture of cotton and linen) to create a wide range of geometric forms as well as comical and creative figures. Rotter began folding paper money origami about 20 years ago. He was motivated to learn to fold banknotes because he wanted to entertain his young children at restaurants when they went out to dinner. Rotter would transform dollar bills into creatures and his children would draw environments for the paper money origami animals to live in. They then left the origami and drawings as tips for restaurant servers.</p><p>What is so impressive about Rotter's work is that he strategically folds the paper money to use aspects of American banknote designs to bring his figures to life. For example, Rotter's origami elephant is precisely folded so that the eye at the top of the pyramid—a symbol from the Great Seal of the United States of America that appears on the reverse of U.S. banknotes—is perfectly placed as the elephant's eye. His shirt-and-tie design is folded to give the appearance of stripes.</p><p><img alt="A one dollar bill folded into the shape of an elephant" class="auto-caption media-image img__fid__19548 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/blog_image/public/JN2016-02304_sm.jpg?itok=LhAykryM" style="width: 550px; height: 413px;" title="Elephant, United States, 2016, by Ron Rotter"></p><p><img alt="A one dollar bill folded into the shape of a short sleeved shirt and tie" class="auto-caption media-image img__fid__19549 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/blog_image/public/JN2016-02295_sm.jpg?itok=XJCG-nJg" style="width: 550px; height: 413px;" title="Shirt and tie, United States, 2016, by Ron Rotter"></p><p>Rotter's elephant and shirt and tie are made from single one dollar banknotes, as are his dinosaur and heart. Each of these designs takes Rotter less than 15 minutes to create.</p><p><img alt="A one dollar bill folded into the shape of a dinosaur, specifically one of the plant-eating ones with a long neck." class="auto-caption media-image img__fid__19550 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/blog_image/public/JN2016-02301_sm.jpg?itok=FJMH2FS3" style="width: 550px; height: 413px;" title="Dinosaur, United States, 2016, by Ron Rotter"></p><p><img alt="A one dollar bill folded into the shape of a heart with a flower or sunburst like feature in the center." class="auto-caption media-image img__fid__19551 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/blog_image/public/JN2016-02293_sm.jpg?itok=L01N7_A9" style="width: 550px; height: 413px;" title="Heart, United States, 2016, by Ron Rotter"></p><p>Rotter also makes much larger pieces from multiple U.S. banknotes. The interlocking tetrahedra is made from 30 one dollar bills. He spent two and a half hours folding the notes and assembling them to produce this striking geometric shape.</p><p><img alt="A sculpture made from one dollar bill(s). It is complex with interwoven triangles that give it a spiked sort of appearance." class="auto-caption media-image img__fid__19552 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" longdesc="" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/styles/blog_image/public/JN2016-02298_sm.jpg?itok=4IA3sC2t" style="width: 550px; height: 413px;" title="Interlocking tetrahedra, United States, 2016, by Ron Rotter"></p><p>Although each figure is carefully and crisply folded, they could be easily disassembled and the banknotes could, once again, serve as a medium of exchange. The value of these pieces, however, lies in the skill and creativity that led to their creation rather than the purchasing power of the notes themselves. The new origami paper money in the National Numismatic Collection contributes to our understanding of the many contemporary uses and interpretations of monetary objects. Examples of Rotter's dynamic art from money are now on display in <em><a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/value-money">The Value of Money</a></em> exhibition.</p><p><em>Ellen Feingold is the curator of the National Numismatic Collection and</em> The Value of Money <em>exhibition.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-user field-type-user-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related Staff Member: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/users/feingolde">FeingoldE</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-posted-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Posted Date: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Thursday, November 3, 2016 - 09:00</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Categories: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/blog-tags/numismatics">Numismatics</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/blog-tags/collections">From the Collections</a></li></ul></div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=FV6kzdA-HS8:010Pfv_oX3o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=FV6kzdA-HS8:010Pfv_oX3o:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=FV6kzdA-HS8:010Pfv_oX3o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?i=FV6kzdA-HS8:010Pfv_oX3o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=FV6kzdA-HS8:010Pfv_oX3o:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?i=FV6kzdA-HS8:010Pfv_oX3o:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=FV6kzdA-HS8:010Pfv_oX3o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OSayCanYouSee/~4/FV6kzdA-HS8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
