ATM: Aldrich New Staff Hire
August 31, 2007–February 24, 2008
Exhibition Reception: September 16, 2007; 3 to 5 pm
Harry Philbrick, director of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum has announced the appointment of ATM—the world’s first and only automated teller machine stand-up comedian—as a Museum Store part-time customer service representative and First Thursdays moonlighter.
ATM is The Aldrich’s most recent hire and comes to the Museum after a thirty-year stint as a cash machine for a large, multinational bank. As a computer-based service machine, ATM has been hooked into the information highway from the moment the pavement was laid, and his extensive knowledge of the Internet has given him one of the most outrageous singular perspectives on modern life.additional images | click to enlarge
Former Museum Store manager Audrey Rich comments, “ATM has come to us following a long career in the banking industry. In addition to his fine quantitative skill set, ATM brings a great sense of humor to the job and will actually perform his stand-up comedy routine at The Aldrich First Thursdays event on the evening of September 6.”
ATM dispenses jokes that draw on his checkered past. ATM explains, “When I was working for the bank I had comedy on my mind. In fact I was always coming up with jokes between transactions. It was easy. I am so pleased to find work at The Aldrich and feel that contemporary art, like comedy, gives one an opportunity to explore touchy subjects and I am pleased to find myself in such a creative environment.”
ATM is a natural performer who sees his work as following the trail of boundary-breaking comedy blazed by the likes of Andy Kaufman and Richard Pryor. ATM is from New Haven, CT, and has appeared on several sit-coms, including the famous “secret ATM code” episode of Seinfeld; Law and Order; Touched by an Angel; and Sex and the City.Image: ATM, Aldrich New Staff Hire
