Painting on copper has a fairly long history in art, achieving a particular popularity among northern European artists in the 16th Century, and still has its contemporary proponents. Likewise the painting of miniatures also has a long history in art and is practiced by a number of contemporary artists. In the early 20th century, the Dadaists began experimenting with what would come to be known as “found art”, making already existing objects into art pieces.
In her series, Tondi observations, one of the three series currently displayed on her website, contemporary artist Jacqueline Lou Skaggs brings these three seemingly disparate genres together in twelve works — painting miniature oil paintings on the copper surface of discarded U.S. pennies.
Interestingly, as she points out in her description of the series, her actions elevate the value of the coins while simultaneously defacing them.
As you view the works, the individual large images can be clicked on for larger versions.
[Via Kottke]
