Dollar Sign

In Dollar Sign Andy Warhol seizes upon one of the most recognizable symbols in the world and transforms it into something uniquely Warholian. Warhol was as interested in the graphic design as he was in the cultural and personal connotations of this signifier. The diversity of Warhol's money-themed works reflects the omnipresence of the American graphic device, and Dollar Sign is an exemplary manifestation of the artist's fascination with this iconic symbol. Andy Warhol's Dollar Sign series from 1981 is the ultimate manifestation of his love affair with money and the material. Here, Warhol turned a ubiquitous symbol in modern society into an aesthetic expression, capturing both his age and character. Warhol began exploring money-orientated imagery as a means of exposing art as a commodity as early as the 1950s when he created a drawing of money growing on a tree. A decade later, he continued exploring this theme with a small series of drawings depicting dollar bills. The growing connection between money and art intrigued Warhol; they both had a universal power to stimulate the imagination and evoke desire. He could exchange his artistic ideas for cash, a notion that fascinated him. Putting the dollar sign on a canvas, the artwork becomes a Warholian currency in its own right. Money, as purchasing power, is what enables consumption, but in an ironic twist, Warhol also recognized the intrinsic value of money and art. "I like money on the wall," he once wrote, "Say you were going to buy a painting. I think you should take that money, tie it up, and hang it on the wall. The when someone visited you, the first thing they would see is the money on the wall" (A. Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again, New York, 1975, p.134).