If you came across a money tree, would you take from it? 

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The chances of stumbling across this willowing tree at the crossroads of Haeley and Soledad are approximately 1/3 trillion. There is a higher chance of winning the lottery than finding these 25 flying $1 bills. 

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For this assignment, Val and I wanted to observe the reaction of those who came across this "free" money. Is it morally right to take money that is left behind? And if so, where will that money be going? 

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We set up this assignment around 12:30pm on Tuesday. Right after we had finished the installation, people began walking by and we sat and observed a few reactions to the piece. The first lucky fellow was a man who walked through the money and paused at the sign, with a skeptical look on his face. He looked around nervously before catching a glimpse of us staring. He didn't take a single dollar, instead, after locking eyes with the potential owners of the money, he walked away. We saw a few other people drive by and stare with curious faces at the tree, but not one of them pulled over to grab it. 

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In between the time we set up the piece and the time that we returned, a few more questions crossed our minds. How many people will take only one dollar, even if no one is looking? Who will leave behind a note? Will somebody take it all of it without engaging with our prompt? 

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We returned to the piece at 5:30 pm, leaving it unattended for 5 hours. During the duration of this time, every dollar on the tree was taken. The bowl held two notes that were left behind. One wrote "Every dollar counts for a box of pampers lol!" and the other "Save it until I have enough to get my body done." Both the notes had the Instagram handles of the respondents written on the back. 

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On our drive back to campus, Val and I reflected on the reaction to our installation. We were both relieved that there was engagement and that our money went to helping a mom buy diapers. That was a pretty cool unintentional gift. We pondered what statement this made about how our society values money. There is also something to be said about the boldness of the respondents to take all of the money and leave their names behind. 

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