Amazingly Intricate Coin Art
Amazingly Intricate Coin Art
It Took 84,000 Pennies, But Mom's Giant Coin Really Makes Cents
A cash-strapped Michigan mom turned 84,000 pennies into a priceless work of art. After going through a difficult period in which she was forced to pinch pennies, Wander Martich decided to create this massive 1-cent piece, which was recently acquired by Ripley's Believe It or Not.
Photos of Wander Matrich (Via: ripleysnewsroom, odditycentral)
Penny sculpture by the numbers:
84,000 pennies were used
It took 22 tubes of construction adhesive to attach the pennies
It measures 8 feet in diameter
It stands nearly 10 feet tall
It weighs an estimated 1200 pounds
84,000 pennies = $840
Ms. Martich worked more than 10 hours a day for three months,then entered the work titled "Helping Mom One Penny at a Time" into the ArtPrize contest in Grand Rapids, where it placed sixth and caught the eye of Edward Meyer, Ripley's vice president of exhibits and archives.
You can read more about this amazing story by clicking the various news articles listed below.
It Took 84,000 Pennies, But Mom's Giant Coin Really Makes Cents
There are photographs and videos available for viewing at the site Art Prize Wander Martich
ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2011) They say a penny saved is a penny earned. If that’s true, an aspiring Michigan artist has certainly earned a place at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for using individual pennies to create a giant replica of a Lincoln penny. Martich's sculpture will be displayed at one of Ripley's Odditoriums. Ripley's has an in depth article and photos on their site here
Artist Bio on Art Prize Site
Original Source AOL News
Something Similar Years Before...
When I saw the story on Wander Martich's giant penny art piece, I immediately thought of a YouTube video I had seen a few years ago where a couple of artists created something similar. Take a look for yourself...
Click to viewA portrait of Abraham Lincoln using pennies. Contains 1025 pennies. A penny from every year and mint between 1909-2008. A complete collection minus the (1909-S vdb penny and errors). A majority of the pennies are wheat pennies dating 1958 and earlier.
No pennies were altered to make this portrait. They are in either circulated or un-circulated states. Thousands of pennies were sorted to find just the right coloration. It's difficult to see in the video but each penny is inside a tiny protective capsule. This prevents the penny from being damaged while handling and allows them to be glued for the final artwork assembly.
Artist Johnny Swing's Loose Change Furniture
Artist Johnny Swing's All the king's men coin sofa is made up of thousands of half-dollar coins. So it's both expensive, and horribly uncomfortable. Check out Johnny Swing's website and browse his Loose Change Furniture series. There are 5 different pieces created with coins.
All The Lings Men, The Nickel Couch, 2nd in series created using 7000 nickels. The Half Dollar Butterfly Chair which was 3rd in the series of coin furniture. The Quarter Chair 4th in series made from 1200 quarters and finally the Loose Change Chair 5th in the series of coin furniture. See photographs of the entire line at Johnny Swing.com
Artist Stacey Lee Webber takes ordinary coins and creates extraordinary sculptures
Most people use coins to purchase tools at the hardware store. Not Stacey Webber. The Indiana-based artist forges coins to create sculptures that resemble everyday tools. The visually stunning results speak for themselves.
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Photo credit Stacey Lee Webber's Website Click to Enlarge
Eugene Kim caught up with Stacey Webber and asked her a few questions about her amazing sculptures. You can read his interview in its entirety here There are 15 wonderful photographs available as well. Be sure to check it out!
[excerpt from interview] You work with an extraordinary medium - coins. What inspired you to first use coins for art?
I became interested in making artwork which expressed the struggles of the everyday blue collar American during the economic downturn around 2005. It seemed natural with a training in jewelery to work with coins - they are small, metal, and literally represent value. After researching and making endless amounts of samples/experiments I became fascinated with older pennies (pre-1982) which are solid copper and vintage silver quarters, dimes, and nickels. Copper and silver are traditionally used in metalsmithing's history making it the perfect relationship between concept and craft.
How hard is it to work with coins? How long does each piece usually take?
Each piece is completely different pertaining to time. Every sculpture is a one-of-a-kind design, so the larger ones, of course, take more time in engineering and fabrication. It is fairly difficult to work with coins because each coin is a different alloy depending on the year and country. Different alloys require research on the possibilities of connecting - welding, soldering, riveting, etc. I have chosen to make constructions using American coins that not only relate to my concepts but also make use of my technical training.
Source My Modern Met
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