Finding Value All Over the Place

brightworks

Sep 25

The Teal Band began their second week of the Coin Arc exploring US dollar bills in pretty much every way they could think of. Hearing there is an owl hidden in the corner of the one dollar bill, the band called on Rich to lend them a dissection microscope to take a closer look. They all agree they saw one. We tried a number of techniques to look closer at the security thread in the $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills. The band looked for all the anticounterfeiting techniques used in the bills they were examining. These included the security thread and watermarks, as well as unique serial numbers. We recorded details of each bill we examined, including mottos, symbols of value, and drawings of people and places. Sometimes we even became the old, white men we found on the bills. Reflecting on the symbols of value we found on the dollar bills the previous day, we went on a scavenger hunt for them and other symbols of value in the Financial District along with the Violet and Amber Bands. We certainly found a large number of eagles adorning the massive buildings, housing everything from banks to Starbucks to gyms. We learned about William Alexander Leidsdorff, a West Indian immigrant of African Cuban ancestry. He built the City Hotel, the first hotel in San Francisco, and the first commercial shipping warehouse, along with becoming San Francisco's first treasurer. Leidsdorff was also one of the earliest supporters of San Francisco's public school system. He was good with money and knew where to put it. Continuing to look beyond just monetary currency in regards to symbols of value, we stopped to observe and take rubbings of our Zodiac signs in front of a Wells Fargo bank. It's interesting to find out how different people value their Zodiac sign and the qualities attributed to them. Moving on from the Financial District, we took our exploration of symbols of value to the SFMoMA. We found value in the artwork we encountered, especially those focused on sound. We valued the calm, meditative qualities of the bowls beautifully chiming as they came together in Céleste Boursier-Mougenot's clinamen. Many of us even discussed how we could build our own at Brightworks. Exploring a number of other works of art in Soundtracks, we reflected on how much we value our ability to hear. It is amazing to explore a piece of art, both silently and when accompanied by sound. We learned about Wells Fargo's stagecoach history of carrying money, people and mail across the US. How many times have you screamed, "SHOTGUN!" in hopes of riding in the front passenger seat of the car. Well, if you rode in that seat on the stagecoach, you'd certainly need a shotgun since it was your job to protect the bags of gold and money tucked under your feet. After all this money talk, who doesn't value a day out at the ballpark with their friends? The Teal Band certainly values it, especially when tickets are as cheap as $6 a piece. We also value getting the chance to see how our hands compare to those of Barry Bonds. Thanks to our early arrival, we were able to make our way down next to the visiting bullpen mound. Getting this close to the field and the players afforded us the first two baseballs we collected that day.