2018

“ATM”

Digital photography

A social and material study of ATM machines located in the East Village, NYC. The origins of ATM machines are a bit blurred- yet historians believe the first machine was installed in 1960 by an American inventor named Luther Simjian. It began as a simple deposit resource, which was used mostly by “prostitutes and gamblers who didn’t want to deal with tellers face to face,” according to Simjian. The general public did catch on, however, in 1967 when Scottish inventor John Shepherd-Barron installed a more advanced ATM machine in London. Today, many of the ATM machines in New York City look like they've been through the ringer. Layers of graffiti cover their sides, while etched drawings make it hard to read their screens. Some have clearly been attacked in an effort to take out the money, with long wires and broken keypads dangling from the console. This photography and graphic design experimentation attempts to memorialize these forsaken machines.