Art Basel has kicked off in Miami, Florida, and while the annual exhibition is infamous for showcasing unorthodox and one-of-a-kind installations, one questionable exhibit that popped up this week has art lovers scratching their heads.
“ATM Leaderboard,” an installation by Brooklyn-based collective MSCHF, has been going viral on social media after viewers realized that the interactive piece of art is an ATM that displays the account balance of anyone who uses it on a leaderboard in front of all the guests at the show.
The ATM will also take a photo of the person entering their card to be displayed next to their account balance on the big screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ULoaMqIFI
“‘ATM Leaderboard’ is an extremely literal distillation of wealth-flaunting impulses,” Co-founder of MSCHF, Daniel Greenberg, told CNN. “Because of the camera, the ATM keeps a continuous record of each person who uses it and also each location that it is installed, so we hope that it will have an opportunity to move through more spaces.”
Art Basel seems to be the perfect place for the ATM to make its debut, as it’s infamously known for lavish parties and over-the-top artwork often priced in the millions.
The man who is currently in first place on the leaderboard has an impressive $2.989 million in his bank account, though his name has not yet been identified.
Clips of the installation quickly made their way around social media where many were quick to comment on the mystery man’s earnings and questioned why he was carrying around that much money.
“Who keeps that kind of money in cash in a bank,” one pointed out. “Some kind [of] financial advisor needs to identify him and help him.”
“The way every gold digger in Miami is going to be looking for that guy this weekend,” another joked.
Art Basel will conclude on Sunday, December 4.
