--- description: The artist James Charles uses dollar bills as his canvas title: Artist Turns Dollar Bills into Pop Culture Currency image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Art](/tag/art/) ## Art Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Artist Turns Dollar Bills into Pop Culture Currency by [Inigo del Castillo / Lost at E Minor](/author/lost-at-e-minor-zolton-zavos/) ## Inigo del Castillo / Lost at E Minor Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2014 8:03 PM CUT by [Inigo del Castillo / Lost at E Minor](/author/lost-at-e-minor-zolton-zavos/) ## Inigo del Castillo / Lost at E Minor Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2014 8:03 PM CUT  _This_ [_article_](http://www.lostateminor.com/2014/10/02/artist-vandalizes-dollar-bills-turn-presidential-portraits-pop-culture-characters/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Lost at E Minor_](http://www.lostateminor.com/ "undefined")_._ In the series ‘American Iconomics,’ artist James Charles uses dollar bills as his canvas and transforms the portraits of presidents into the images of pop culture characters. Using materials and ink that perfectly match what the US Mint uses, he intricately changes the features of each face, such that it totally becomes something else. Some of the famous characters he’s put on a dollar bill are Yoda, Spock, Ronald McDonald, Pinhead and Mr. T. We know, we know, it’s illegal to deface dollar bills, but with art as beautiful as this, I think he should be given an exception! You can check out more from this series [here](http://www.shootinggallerysf.com/shows/american-inconomics/ "undefined"). (Via [Life Buzz](http://www.lifebuzz.com/money/ "undefined"))  'Jedi Master' and 'Nice Buns' by James Charles Randy Dodson, courtesy of Shooting Gallery SF  'Bowl Haircut' by James Charles Randy Dodson, courtesy of Shooting Gallery SF  'Burger Clown' by James Charles Randy Dodson, courtesy of Shooting Gallery SF  'Hell Raiser' by James Charles Randy Dodson, courtesy of Shooting Gallery SF  'Pity The Fool' by James Charles Randy Dodson, courtesy of Shooting Gallery SF ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3529550/artist-dollar-bills-yoda-mr-t/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3529550/artist-dollar-bills-yoda-mr-t/"},"headline":"Artist Turns Dollar Bills into Pop Culture Currency","datePublished":"2014-10-24T20:03:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:19.471Z","description":"James Charles uses money as his canvas","url":"https://time.com/3529550/artist-dollar-bills-yoda-mr-t/","keywords":["Art","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Inigo del Castillo / Lost at E Minor"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/art/","name":"Art"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3529550/artist-dollar-bills-yoda-mr-t/","name":"Artist Turns Dollar Bills into Pop Culture Currency"}}]}] ```