One Hundred Eight Inflated Dollars
Artist/Maker
Öyvind Fahlström
(Sweden (b. Brazil), 1928-1976)
Date1973
Mediumlithograph
DimensionsSheet: 12 x 9 in. (30.5 x 22.9 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of Stephen Feinstein
Terms
Object number83.0136.07
DescriptionThe painter and writer, who was born in Brazil and raised in Sweden, moved to New York City in 1961, becoming involved with the New York Pop art scene. In these images Fahlstrum addresses the issue of inflation and its relation to American expansionist politics through two caricatures of a U.S. one hundred dollar bill. On the front of the bill, Fahlstrom perverts a revered American slogan, "In God we trust," and scolds America for remaining complacent with rampant inflation that has a negative impact on the rest of the world. According to the artist, the carving of the world for economic gain began in 1961, represented by the fat pig in the upper left corner. By 1971, a mean, lean boar oversees a world divided into militarized zones. On the bill's reverse, a pyramidal class system illustrates how America's wealthy are supported on the backs of others. Falhlstrom's style is appropriated from underground comic books such as Mad Magazine.On View
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