>>DOLLARWORKS CHRONOLOGY<<
CUBA
1957
(age 8) - Began to secretly keep and conceal bills given to me by parents
and relatives for church limosna and to buy caramelos.
I would store these
in a crevice of a shelf in my closet. (Recreate folded bills: 00JAN58foldR01)
1958-59
Began to stash silver dollars for life in the USA in a tobacco box. (Peso
Machos)
Living at the fighting stage of the Revolución, in Holguín, Oriente
I was exposed to the battle and the winning. When Fidel’s victorious
soldiers came into my town they gave away empty rifle and tank cartridges;
I rolled 3 pesos and stuffed them inside a small brass cartridge.
(Recreate with accurate container: OOFEB60balaR01 -edition of 12-)
1960
I inspected and coveted the dollars and pesos my grandmother kept in her
armoir with her jewels and perfumes. I would help her sprinkle the wads
of bills with
talcum powder. This part of the furniture was always locked, the key
attached to my grandmother’s bra with safety pins.
(Recreate Wad tied with lace ribbon: 00DEC63wadR01, R02, R03)
1963
I turned into a fetish a dollar that was given to me as "lucky money" before
leaving Cuba.
(Recreate with Silver Certificate dollar and silver escapulario. (00JAN64fetishR01)
MEXICO
1964-65
(age 15) - Fascinated and intrigued by the Aztec calendar and its image
on currency, used a peso as the central image of a souvenir book.
Saw stone at Anthropology Museum and thought it looked like a big coin.
(Locate album; photograph)
MIAMI
1965
(age 16) - First Dollar Earned in America -,
cutting the neighbor's grass (made $3.00 In
almost 2 hours; saved one for a few years (with 'Audrey' written
on it), lost track of it.
(Recreate with ballpoint pen and cursive script: OOSEP65yerbaRO1, RO2, RO3)
1966
1967
1968-69
Drew and painted Peace signs, LOVE, cannabis
leaves, flowers, optical patterns (ink and saliva)
(Recreate OOMAY69peace1RO1- series of 25 -)
1969
Graduation money
Learned to fold dollars to package gifts
(Recreate folded box, cucurucho)
1970
1971
BOCA
RATON - TALLAHASSEE
1972
Began signing bills with invented names and
nonsensical signatures
(Recreate with Flema del Monte, Bebe
Casino, Boquita de Pescado)
Began and continued over the years to stamp
bills with thumb print
1973
Did image transfers with mayonnaise on bills
(Recreate: OOJUN73may001R - do various with cars and trees)
MIAMI
1974
Began to collect bills with markings, but would eventually spend them
1975
1976
Produced bills in the same style of contemporaneous collages: tools, car
parts, white paint, swimmers
(Recreate with collage)
Made cortaditas/heriditas as in other work
(Recreate - use gauze)
1977
1978
Began to apply images of quinceañeras on bills transferred with solvent
(Recreate)
1979
Did Spirograph drawings
(Recreate)
1980-1981
Began to notice and collect bills with markings and messages by others
1982
Drew anonymous erotic images (Later inspired by Purvis Young)
(Recreate with watercolor)
1982-83
Ideas for bills with Ana Mendieta
(Pussy Print recreate)
(Washington with pubic hair beard)
1984
Drew dollars with images of numbers, informed by
the dollar's relative value in Cuban black market.
(doce,
nueve)
Began to sign bills with artists' signatures
(Recreate with Picasso, Picabia, Matisse, etc.)
1985
1986
PRIVATE ART - PUBLIC DOLLARS
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
Diagrams of power structures and patterns of institutional responsibility
1992
Drawings of Che, Fidel, Mas Canosa over Washington
1993
Began to sketch word charts (thesaurus, other)
Diagrams of institutional structures (tables of organization)
1994
NEW YORK
1995
Continued drawing on bills: figures,
pills, drugs, erotic doodles
Series of Bean drawings (dollar=frijoles, moola=bacalao)
1996
Began printing bills with images from Internet
and with other computer
produced messages and images.
In May painted exotic bills with Indian deities
In October began a large series of bean drawings
1997
Continued to collect dollars with marks as
well as fictional money
and exotic bills
Did various stampings and text overprints
1998
Began George Drag bills
1999
Researched rituals and costumes with
bills in various cultures
Researched artists' bill
works and projects
Learned of Boggs through
Weschler's book. Homage
bills, no contact
MIAMI
2000
Continued to overprint
images on bills
Explored various
origami techniques
and shapes
2001
Developed ideas for
unrealized money-marking
project at the time of
Art Basel Miami Beach (FLOW/GLOW
Project)
September Series
on 9/11
2002
In May did post-THAT PLACE show bills
Trees and other
works for Mirror,
Mirror
Shredded money
works
Rolled bills
sculptures
In Nov produced
many
new works for
SOCIAL FABRIC:
Old Pillows and
Recent
Money Works
2003
2004
2005
BRIDGE TENDER'S HOUSE
WOLFSONIAN-FIU MUSEUM
TENDER HOUSE
2006
KILLING
TIME
2007
