Is It Illegal To Paint On Money

How ratified is it to manipulation tender equally your canvas tent?

Delight note: This article is promulgated as an archive copy from Philadelphia Urban center Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly paper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The inalterable edition was published on October 8, 2022.

By Lara Witt | Published 09/05/2022

GET MONEY: If Chris Estlow were to sell his drawings connected U.S. report currency, it would be breaking the law. Leastways, technically.

Imagine the currency of a country subordinate away heavy metal: The usual dull greens and grays of paper bills increasing with vivid colors, heads of tell changed into decaying zombies and demon skeletons. That's what Chris Estlow's work looks the like, drawn and painted on paper bills with Micron pens and brushes. Cardinal hitch: Drawing along (or defacing, as the police force puts it) currency is technically illegal, according to Title 18, Division 333 of the United States Code:

"Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, OR does any other thing to any greenbac, potation, note, Oregon other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such rely bill, outline, note, operating theater other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined low this statute title or imprisoned not many than six months, or both."

The natural law American Samoa it pertains to currency mutilation is actually more stringent about coins, which are more expensive to make; the parts involving paper currency are mostly invoked in the cases of individual altering a $1 bill to look like a $20, not individual altering President Lincoln to look like a zombie. Smooth, the powers that embody don't exactly smile on it.

"U.S. currency is printed at the expense of the government and is a form of governing property," says Patricia Hartman of the U.S. Zone Lawyer's office. "Currency destroyed means that much currency has to be made for the public to use — likewise at the public's expense."

The absolute majority of the money Estlow draws on is American bills, simply he sometimes gets eery denominations OR international currencies from his friends and the patrons at the Old City bar where he works. On one two dollar bill, Thomas Jefferson has been carefully transformed into a blood-dripping, skull-baby-faced Native American wielding a tomahawk with tepees in the background and torrid lava flowing out of them. On a fivesome-pound note from Great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelan, Queen Elizabeth Two has been altered into a emaciated, scaled creature with yellowed demon eyes, a slimly gaudier pennant on her head and, to her left, a mini-monster Elizabeth, sans crown.

"American money is boring, foreign currency looks ice chest and many interesting. The most unputdownable one was the Indian rupees, because Gandhi already looks like a skeleton. But foreign money is Thomas More challenging than Dry land dollars because they'ray not what we're used to seeing.

"I really started drawing them at work because I was bored," says Estlow. He put on his front one abreast his electric refrigerator four years ago; in the place of one year, he produced 127 Thomas More. Estlow's aim now is to sell his art, with his original solo exhibition opening this Friday at Fishtown's Coragyps atratus Verandah. However, there was a bit of a problem with that.

"Manufacturing counterfeit Federated States currency or neutering authenticated up-to-dateness to step-up its treasure is a offence of Title 18, Section 471 of the United States Code and is illegal by a thin of adequate to $5,000, or 15 years imprisonment, or some," according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. The speech is obviously meant to be old against counterfeiters, but catch that "altering unfeigned currency to increase its value" part? Painting demons on a dollar bill and merchandising IT for $20 is just as much an increase in value as hard to tamper with a $1 so it give the sack be passed remove atomic number 3 a $20. If Estlow were to sell the bills he draws on for much their expression assess, he'd technically live breaking the law — though Hartman says it's unlikely that anyone would prosecute on it. She can't callback any similar cases having been brought before the U.S. attorney in this district, and in fact sounds a little confused as to why she is beingness asked such ridiculous questions.

Still, Estlow wants zero trouble with the law, so he's found a work-around: He holds on to his money.

"The originals are blown-up to various sizes and then digitally printed, signed and serially numbered (50 in a series). We are viewing digital images of international currency of inflated sizes. We are non exhibit operating room selling defaced actual worldwide currency," says Pattie Meyer, Estlow's handler.

"If the government came looking for me, I would equitable enjoin them that I had Photoshopped it wholly," shrugs Estlow. But even though his art has a hint of questionable legality, atomic number 2 says that the creative safety valve he gets from artwork really keeps him out of far more trouble than it could ever so get him into: "If I didn't have art, I would be in jail by at present."

Dirty Money series, through September, opening Sept. 6, 6 p.m., Black Marauder, 208 E. Girard Ave., 215-423-3666, blackvulturegallery.com.