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Martha Wilson writes on Money to Burn

Dread Scott’s performance went really well! It was the summer solstice, longest day of the year, no rain in sight. Dread came to Franklin Furnace at 10:45 to meet with us and with his crew. I got a call from NYSCA asking if I could clarify the funding credit on the flyer; they were anxious because it looked like Stimulus funding was going directly to Dread Scott. I said it was too late to reprint the flyer, but that I would answer press inquiries with the information that Stimulus funding was awarded to FF in support of the Program Coordinator’s salary. Then we left for Wall Street. Dread emerged from the subway station, walked along Wall Street singing “Money to Burn, Money to Burn” like Oscar Brown Jr.’s “Rags and Old Iron” song. He had $250 pinned to the front of a black cotton shirt. A videographer was close upon him, and his wife Jenny had a bucket of sand and another bucket of water. Andrea, a FF student intern and I started handing out flyers as Dread rounded the corner of Broad Street and stood in front of the Stock Exchange. It was lunch hour, so people were sitting at tables eating sandwiches; Michelle Coffey, Director of the Lambent Foundation (whose offices are literally across the street from the Stock Exchange), several members of Franklin Furnace’s Board, members of Percent for Art staff, and other FF staff mingled with the Wall Street tourists and money managers. Dread burned a $20 first, then kept singing and burning for about 30 minutes! Not one trader would join Dread in burning his own money. Then two cops meandered down Broad Street, were joined by two more, then two more. One got on the phone to call his superior for some advice, which must have been, “Give him a ticket for something.” An officer approached Dread, said he had to stop, and gave him a ticket for disorderly conduct. Dread stopped burning money and turned over his ID. The ticket was issued, Dread started off for the subway again, singing but not burning money anymore. The crowd broke into applause! Dread got good video, and was photographed perhaps a thousand times.

Dread Scott website: here. Money to Burn video: here.

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