Trolling Art Basel 2013 With Fake Piles of Money

Money makes the world go 'round. Nowhere does that ring truer than the gross display of excess and wealth called Art Basel. So leave it to our art director Miche Ratto and photographer Stian Roenning to traverse Wynwood with stacks of (fake) money. Onlookers gawked, velvet ropes disappeared, and taxi...

By Jose D. Duran

December 11, 2013

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Money makes the world go 'round.

Nowhere does that ring truer than the gross display of excess and wealth called Art Basel. So leave it to our art director Miche Ratto and photographer Stian Roenning to traverse Wynwood with stacks of (fake) money. Onlookers gawked, velvet ropes disappeared, and taxi services to Georgia became a possibility.

"Basically, photographer Stian Roenning and I finished our Basel cover with TYPOE and had 12 bundles of cash that I had made," Ratto explains. "While sipping on some fine spirits at a local pub, we thought how funny it would be to drop these in the middle of crowds. We thought it would make for a fun project.

"Then the idea developed way beyond that and into the absurdity of Basel and money. We thought it fit right into Basel and that some douchebag would be dollying around bundles of cash and no one would question it."

Go forth, and check out this little piece of "performance art."

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Jose D. Duran is associate editor of Miami New Times where he primarily oversees the arts and culture and music beats. Jose joined the New Times staff in June 2008 but has been covering Miami culture since 2005. His work has also appeared in publications likeVice, Billboard, and Spin. He’s earned numerous accolades including placing first for Weekly Newspaper Contest: Business Reporting from the Florida Press Association in 2020; placing third for the Writing: Light Feature from the Florida Press Club in 2019; and placing third in Weekly Newspaper Contest: Best Obituary from the Florida Press Association in 2015. Jose holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida.

Contact: Jose D. Duran

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Twitter: @jose_d_duran