
DATE: Saturday, March 1, 1997               TAG: 9703010264

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MAGGIE WELTER, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   82 lines

MAKING THE BUCK BEAUTIFUL

Doug Clarke has nothing against dead presidents, but he'd rather not carry pictures of them in his wallet.

``Our money is so unattractive,'' said Clarke, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University. ``My professor always says we're going into the 21st century with 19th century money in our pockets.''

His professor, Philip Meggs, feels so strongly about the subject that he challenged VCU art students last semester to spruce up the dollar bill.

The competition generated about 300 new designs; the top five were chosen by student vote. In January, the winners presented their proposals to U.S. Treasurer Mary Withrow in Washington.

The students' work reflects not only more contemporary designs but also deeper meanings.

Sandra Gayle Wade's dollar bill, with the faces of both George and Martha Washington, shows society's growing acceptance of - and respect for - women in power. ``There have always been great women behind our presidents and in government,'' said Wade, a senior. ``But they've never gotten recognition.''

Erickson Diga, a senior from Virginia Beach, won first place. He thinks it's time to remove the color green from money because, he says, green is associated with greed and crime. So his bill, picturing a dove in flight, is mostly white.

``I was thinking about the Olympics and trying to gain the peaceful quality of a white dove moving toward the future,'' he said. ``I hope we're moving toward that kind of society.''

The other submissions ranged from traditional designs featuring American icons such as the bald eagle to collages of modern objects like subways.

Meggs got the idea for the contest when the U.S. Treasury Department released a new version of the $100 bill last year. ``My assumption was that we would finally carry a bill that reflects the creative potential of contemporary America,'' said Meggs, a professor of communication arts and design. To his dismay, the replacement was a ``goofed-up version of what we already had.'' Among other changes, the new bill features a picture of Benjamin Franklin that is nearly twice as large as on the old design.

So the professor launched the competition and used his connections to set up the meeting with Withrow, the U.S. treasurer. ``It was so exciting,'' Diga said. ``She was really responsive to my ideas. It was very inspiring for a graphic artist.''

Withrow, in fact, was so impressed with the bills that she asked to keep reproductions to hang in her office. But don't expect to see them in cash registers.

Altering money, Withrow told the students, is an extremely difficult process, requiring congressional approval. Withrow also said that surveys show the public is uncomfortable with radically changing the look of money.

The $100 bill was changed, a Treasury spokeswoman said, not to improve design, but to enhance security by decreasing the chance of counterfeiting.

Barbara Spies, a graduate student, was not surprised by the response.

``We weren't expecting them to adopt our designs,'' she said. ``It was more about showing them the potential of money, not about selling our specific ideas.''

The project may not have changed the buck, but the experience was worth a million of them. ``The students saw that even minor changes in government have to be approved by many layers,'' said John DeMao, chairman of the communication arts and design program. ``It's like trying to move a glacier.''

But Meggs is still determined to put artistic bang in the buck. The next stop on his currency crusade is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. ``Dramatic changes won't happen unless the president gets involved, so I have a few students exploring the best method of getting our message to him,'' Meggs said.

And if that doesn't work? ``We might have to get Mrs. President involved,'' Meggs said with a grin. Maybe Martha Washington will get her day on the bill after all. ILLUSTRATION: NOT YOUR FOUNDING FATHERS' GREENBACK

Erickson Diga, a VCU senior from Virginia Beach, produced the

winning dollar bill design. He used a mostly white background to

reflect a more peaceful quality.

Diga's art professor, Philip Meggs, was dismayed when he saw the

U.S. Treasury Department's new version of the $100 dollar bill and

launched a contest for his students.

[Color Photo]

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Erickson Diga, standing in rear, won first place in the contest

sponsored by Philip Meggs, standing. From left, Sandra Gayle Wade,

Barbara Spies and Doug Clarke also entered.