Museum acquires the @ symbol for its collection

The @ symbol is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. While it sounds like a Dadaist prank, the MoMA is very serious about this acquisition. That said, they're not blind to the conceptual artyness of the news. From the MoMA, where you can also read a fascinating history of the symbol:

The acquisition of @ takes one more step. It relies on the assumption that physical possession of an object as a requirement for an acquisition is no longer necessary, and therefore it sets curators free to tag the world and acknowledge things that "cannot be had"--because they are too big (buildings, Boeing 747's, satellites), or because they are in the air and belong to everybody and to no one, like the @--as art objects befitting MoMA's collection...
Being in the public realm, @ is free. It might be the only truly free--albeit not the only priceless--object in our collection.
We have acquired the design act in itself and as we will feature it in different typefaces, we will note each time the specific typeface as if we were indicating the materials that a physical object is made of.

@ at MoMA (via Imaginary Foundation)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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Anonymous

Oh man I have a whole printer full of those symbols. Does the contract deliver a keyboard/computer/printer (or typewriter), and show you how to generate a ton of your own copies?

I’ll sell you each print of one “@” sign for $5,000. Framing is extra.
bobhughes

i’m gonna break in down a rope thru the ceiling aka mission impossible and steal it. i’ve already got a growing list of international bidders with all sorts of nefarious plans, i’m sure
mtreighie

I’ve done some hobby blacksmithing, about 6 years ago now, my daughter was covering the American west in her social studies class. I made her an @ cattle brand to take for show and tell.
ZippySpincycle

A listener email to NPR about this story claims this is nothing new for New Englanders, who have always called the place the “Museum of Modern At”
Anonymous

I may not “know” art, but I know that things like this are pretentious and idiotic. The “art” world would be a laughing stock if it didn’t make the money it does.

~D. Walker
Adam Keck

The concept of “@” may be “free,” but doesn’t whatever typographical representation they’ve chosen belong to someone’s font family? I wonder if they used an open source font family for their physical representation of @.
mramberg

That’s not even art collecting – without an actual artist to attribute the work to, it’s simply a curator’s cultural commentary on the importance of a symbol in today’s society. Not much more than a glorified magazine article hanging on a museum wall.

Aside from that, are we sure this isn’t just some culture jammer yanking our chain?
- Agies
  
  They are attributing the modern interpretation to Ray Tomlinson. And yes, they are totally serious about it.
Anonymous

I can’t wait till they acquire some other concepts, like love or hate.
Would they display “love” in the material Helvetica.
Perhaps they will acquire war and then ban it’s public use under IP law…
Anonymous

And the attributed artist will be Francesco Lapi?
an0nymous

They have also acquired an eye-roll for which I expect to be acknowledged as “a generous donor”.
I appreciated their insights into the use of the symbol, but the self-aware cleverness, less so.
- arkizzle / Moderator
  
  +1 made me LOL
MajorD

Hey MOMA! I’ve just “acquired” a symbol, too! It’s the extended middle finger. Would you like me to give you *that* one?
anansi133

If this generates some conversation about what it means to own something, then it might be worth it.

But I’m skeptical.
zoink

If I was a curator at the Whitney I would immediately dub MOMA’s curatorial action as itself art and state that I had acquired it. Heck, then the New Museum, DIA, Walker, SFMOMA, etc. could all do the same in a giant round-robin of recursive curatorial acquisition. Once MOMA got in on the game it would become an infinite loop.
Darren Garrison

I call dibs on the interrobang!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrobang
Anonymous

This is the first time they’ve truly deserved their moniker of The Museum of Modern Art.
brookswift

I’m claiming the octothorpe. # will be displayed in my personal phone collection, proudly shining from it’s home spot in the bottom row’s rightmost key. those wishing to view this priceless piece of art history can, by special appointment and a $1 fee, view this magnificent piece of art.