Hans-Peter Feldmann


When I first was told what we would be doing for the Feldmann installation at the Guggenheim, I'll admit I was a bit skeptical. But it was interesting to see how the U.S. dollar bills developed into something other than currency. We were instructed to nail each bill up in rows, one at a time. That's one-hundred-thousand nails making one-hundred-thousand holes in the wall. Everyone working on the installation had their own method of putting the dollars up conveniently. Some of us used tack hammers, others used regular hammers, some even made their own tools to get the job done. The dollars were first randomized in a plywood spinning box, and we received $100 at a time to put up. We quickly learned how dirty money is. I found myself washing my hands frequently because my fingertips would turn black. Everyone's patch of wall evolved differently. In the end, the singles didn't even look like money but rather like a vintage wallpaper. I am in the red shirt on the scissor lift, next to my colleague James Cullinane, finishing up the last patch of that wall as Hans-Peter Feldmann stands below. —Laura Krapacher, art preparator