Having some creative fun with concept of money can be a tricky thing. Consider the case of artist J.S.G. Boggs, whose signature hand-drawn illustrations of paper currency - which are clearly not meant to pass at counterfeits - have attracted unwelcome attention from the Secret Service and the Bank of England.

Putting aside the risks of messing with the monetary system, the Providence Ekistics Guild, a group specializing in experimental art, is seeking contestants to have their visage depicted on Noney (rhymes with money), a new form of cultural currency. After choosing 10 winners, the guild plans to screen print 10,000 Noney bills, complete with an illustration of the individual and a listing of their favorite bird and vegetable, this summer and then release them in the fall.

Organizer Alec Thibodeau, 29, was inspired by artists, like Boggs and Andy Warhol, who have toyed with the notion of currency, as well as larger questions about the little pieces of paper that rule our lives. "Money, in our day and age, it becomes so abstract with things like Enron, and what really is the security of money?" he says. "I was looking for an art project that would carry this idea that Warhol and Boggs had started."

Interested contestants should submit their own good quality photograph (no entries on behalf of others will be accepted) and cite their favorite vegetable and bird. Entrants should also include a mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Submissions should be sent to Noney, Box 1013, Providence, RI 02901, or they can be entered electronically at www.noney.net. The deadline is June 1.

Although the 10 different Noney bills won't include numbers or any specified value, the Providence Ekistics Guild intends for the currency to be used as a cultural and economic tool for trading and collecting. Thibodeau says a number of small business owners, including proprietors of bookstores and coffee shops, have expressed interest in accepting the experimental bucks.

Foreign bills, whether from Mexico, Italy, or somewhere else, have traditionally been more vibrant than the US greenback. But with the advent of the Euro, a single currency accepted across Europe, these global idiosyncrasies seem to be on the wane. "There's nothing local or personal backing it up, because it's based on a number of different countries," Thibodeau says. "This [Noney] will be completely different."

Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis[a]phx.com.

Issue Date: April 19 -25, 2002