ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611040006
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND (AP)
SOURCE: SIBELLA C. GIORELLO RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
New money means different things to different people.
To Phillip Meggs, new money means getting rid of the U.S. Treasury's $1 bill.
``Our money was designed in the 1920s, based on paper money from the 19th century,'' said Meggs, professor of communication arts and design at Virginia Commonwealth University.
``The motif of our money is a Victorian decoration surrounded by severed heads of deified dead white men. Other countries' money is often very colorful and expressive,'' Meggs said.
``President Clinton is talking about building a bridge to the 21st century and we're walking around with 19th-century money in our pocket.''
Tired of old money, Meggs spearheaded a campaign to challenge the School of the Arts students to design new $1 bills. Students were given a week to work on the bills, and on Oct. 24, about 300 new designs went on display.
From the looks of it, few student-artists wanted to keep money green; the eagle took flight altogether or was displayed in full wingspan, and presidents showed up sparsely - FDR, Teddy Roosevelt and, in one case, all the presidential men on one bill. On another, George Washington appeared naked.
``Some of them wanted to know, are we supposed to be serious or ironic?'' Meggs said.
``We said, `Be serious about the attempt to come up with a better design for money, but we don't want to restrain you.' We told them to create the dollar bill you would like to carry in your handbag or wallet. So you see whimsy and sarcasm and social commentary cropping up from time to time.''
``I pledge resistance to the greed and lust and temptations all around me,'' read the yellow bill with inky handwriting by Martin Reamy and Munira Al-Khalih, ``and to the evil for which it causes one nation defying God totally divided with total disrespect for all.''
Kaohele Karlos changed the bill's wording: ``In You We Trust.''
Other designs were mainstream enough to be in the pockets of bankers and doctors and lawyers, without compromising artistic license.
Sterling Hundley, 20, used red, white and blue in sepia-like tints. Teddy Roosevelt faces front; an eagle flies across the back.
``I wanted to try to redesign it for the '90s,'' Hundley said. ``To me the '90s have a lot more personality involved. And I thought Teddy Roosevelt was a good symbol of America, like his quote, `Speak softly and carry a big stick.'''
The front and back of Hundley's design are integrated. The eagle's eye matches Roosevelt's eye; the star shape meets on both sides; and the eagle's wing moves into the stripes of the flag on the front.
Certain details of old money were mandatory for the new bills, no matter how outlandish the design.
The project specified that each bill show the following marks:
Federal Reserve Note, The United States of America; One Dollar; This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private; a serial number, R 12566279 R; and R Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia. Each bill was 61/4 inches long and 21/2 inches high.
Some artists added more words and included the writings of Annie Dillard, Maya Angelou and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Faces on the bill varied. Making appearances were Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Twain, Andy Warhol, Martin Luther King, Eleanor Roosevelt and Michael Jordan. American Indians cropped up on several bills, often looking out across the fertile plains.
Places included the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and Las Vegas.
Meggs wants a VCU delegation to carry the best designs to Washington and present them to the federal government. He'd like the delegation to talk to somebody important about amending the $1 bill's design.
Just when that will happen, Meggs isn't sure.
``Probably sometime after the election,'' he said, ``when we can get an appointment.''
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB