Dollar Pyramid (Primary Title)
Yukinori Yanagi, Japanese, born 1959 (Artist)
"My intention is to dissolve the symbolic signs of stasis into an organic form that changes with time and circumstance." —Yukinori Yanagi
Made of colored sand in shallow plastic boxes, Dollar Pyramid replicates an enlarged and fragmented dollarbill (with the Richmond Federal Reserve seal). Into these carefully made sand paintings, the artist released thousands of live ants that traveled from box to box through plastic tubes. After a number of weeks, Yanagi opened the lids, released the ants, and fixed the sand permanently. Working with live ants since the mid-1980s, Yanagi often pits them against symbols of power such as national flags and imperial crests. He likens the ants’ random movement to the urban flow of cars, subways, electricity, and information. Works made with images of US currency raise particular issues of wealth and power.
[1] Commissioned for the exhibition "Vanitas: Meditations on Life and Death in Contemporary Art," Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, April 14 - June 18, 2000. Accessioned September 21, 2000. See VMFA Curatorial file.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.