Credit Card Art: It Pays To Paint Discover
By Steven Goss
It's hard to define the boundary between money and art. Similar
to the careers of Johns and Rauschenberg, the relationship is almost
interchangeable. The only thing keeping money and art separate is
our use of it. If you have money, you can go to the store and buy
some milk. Nobody will question you. Try doing the same with a Van
Gogh and see where you get. I'm not saying Starry Night couldn't
get you some milk. I'm assuming it could get you a whole truckload
of milk, but that would make this discussion less clear. Although,
it may suggest that art could be turned into an acceptable substitute
for money or at least an abstract concept of it. Just think if
money and art joined forces. Starving artists would be happy. And,
I bet it wouldn't take much cajoling to get them to design currency
or credit cards. Sort of like in 1995 when Discover used celebrity
art to decorate their Private Issue line. These credit cards were
an instant hit because the card's design featured art made by people
such as Ringo Starr and Patrick Ewing. And why shouldn't it have been
a huge success? Wouldn't spending money be more enjoyable if Tina
Turner made it? The same goes for Randy Travis. It was a glorious
moment. Art and money crossed the line and a painting could finally get
you that CD of power rock ballads you saw on TV. The campaign has
since ended. Phil Collins closed the series out in 1999. It makes
you wonder what kind of art skills Phil has. Not many,
I guess. But, as the following
examples demonstrate, they could have come up with worse.
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