What is artmoney?
Artmoney was invented in 1997 as an art project aiming at cleaning up the filthy path of real money with the broom of art. The utopian hope was to create a platform, where all people are worth the same, and anyone could make their own money to gain freedom from financial slavery.
Initially artmoney proved itself functional as an alternative currency. It was immediately accepted at regular shops as full- or partial payment and has been able to hold a fixed value recognized by officials around the world for 20 years.
Anyone can make artmoney. Either as a registered artist on the web site or as an independent person who is not listed on the web site. Registered artists pay an annual fee for a profile with an independent online gallery shop. They benefit from the network of the artmoney community and can participate in group exhibitions. Independent persons can spend their artmoney in shops.
Artmoney is recognized when it honors the rules of creation. It must measure 12×18 cm. It must be original, hand-made art. It must show year of production, serial number, name of the artist, country of the artist, the artist signature and the web site address . The rules of creation unites the thousands of different looking artmoney as one, global currency.
Artmoney can be sold at a fixed rate of Danish Kroner 200. No matter the name of the artist, the rate is always the same. Artmoney can be traded for artmoney. This allows artmoney artists to build a collection of art from a wide range of artists. Artmoney can be spend as full- or partial payment at regular shops. Any shop can sign up on the web site and decide how many % they wish to accept in artmoney. Shops can spend their artmoney at other shops, or they can sell them over the counter, or they can collect them as art
My personal view:
I love reality. Brutal, honest, tender, instant and everlasting reality. Lips kissing lips. Eyes meeting eyes. Hands shaking hands. I love the trace of human activity and the exciting experience of no human trace at all in untouched nature. The wear and tear of an old jacket. A pair of worn out shoes. The charm of antique furniture or riding in an old car. I love the sense of history inherent in old objects of human creativity. And I love original, hand-made art.
Of course artmoney has set me free of financial slavery. And I am grateful for that. I can now dedicate my life to actual living rather than working some job in order to feed the system. But that is not the primary purpose of artmoney. The most wonderful benefit from artmoney is to contribute to a stream of real, human value. Bit by bit each artmoney adds to a eternal river of love and compassion that reaches around the world.
Artmoney is pure as gold. For art is pure. It knows no greed because all are worth the same and no one holds the power over others. It intends no evil. It is a carrier of human emotions. Love, curiosity, knowledge, humor, passion and spirituality. Artmoney is anarchistic, it allows total freedom of expression, there is no hidden agenda and it unfolds the full scope of visual communication.
Running the artmoney art project is not like running a regular bank. Or a regular business for that matter. There are no expectations for growth. No advertisement strategy. No outreach sales activity. I made a 200 year plan for artmoney that entails no business considerations. I made a 200 year plan as a personal reminder, that a human life is brief while humanity may last. The purpose of life is that of giving. Not that of taking. What I may take will vanish when I die. What I have given may last. Value is in the giving. That is what artmoney is all about. Giving.
You can be an artist. Join artmoney and start practicing. Any kid can enjoy the creation of art. Any grown-up has been a kid. We all unite in the exchange of creative expression. We all relate to the gift of a hand made object of good intentions. There is no person on Earth who cannot be an artist. All it takes is action. All it requires is a sense of reality.
For more information about artmoney please visit: www.artmoney.org
Photos provided by the author.