This Art Basel ATM machine puts your bank balance on display – would you use it?

Is this art? An ATM at Art Basel will rank and display how much money is in your bank account for the world to see

(Credit: Art Basel)

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Show me the money

• 🎨 Art Basel has an ATM machine that isn’t quite what it seems

• 📸 The machine takes a photograph of the user and displays their bank balance

• 🥇 Those savings are then ranked against other users

• 💰 The highest amount someone had in their bank so far is $2.9 million

Checking your bank balance after a big night out or an expensive holiday can be nerve-wracking, but would you feel confident enough to display your entire savings account for the world to see? With your picture to go alongside it?

What if your bank balance was then also ranked against other users who stepped up to use the ATM machine? I’m breaking into a cold sweat just thinking about it.

But that’s exactly what this ATM machine at Art Basel does, and it appears to have attracted quite a crowd curious to see the results of those who have been brave enough (or rich enough) to put their debit card inside.

The “art installation” was shared by Twitter user Joel Franco, who showed how the ATM works. You can clearly see a healthy gathering of people who are interested to see the results, but extremely reluctant to use it themselves.

If I didn’t spend all my money hoovering up the best PS5 games and collecting the best PS5 headsets, maybe I’d feel more confident to step up to the ATM myself. Actually, I’d also have to be good at saving in the first place… Scratch that, I’m out.

The highest bank balance sits at $2.9 million, while Franco notes that there are a number of entries where people had $0 in their accounts.

Joel Franco @OfficialJoelF

This is a real ATM at Art Basel that puts your bank account balance & photo on a leaderboard for all to see 👀

The “ATM Leaderboard” machine was created by a Brooklyn-based art collective called MSCHF, and was reportedly sold to a local Miami collector for $75,000, according to artnews.

The idea of showing how much money you have alongside your picture seems like a recipe for disaster – some might find it rather distasteful, too – but there’s no doubt that the art installation isn’t at least somewhat interesting.

I’m sure there’s a deeper meaning hidden somewhere here – I mean, that’s the goal of most art, right? Perhaps it enrages those who care about status more than those who aren’t as money-orientated – I guess it’s down to your own personal interpretation, again, like most art.

Art Basel is currently taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center and closes on December 4, but the international art fair also takes place in Basel, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Paris. The for-profit and privately owned event began in 1970 and returned in 2021 after 2020 was canceled due to Covid-19.