The Art of the Gadget: How Everyday Tech Items are Suddenly Museum-Worthy

By Reena Jana
August 26, 2011

MOMA Talk to You

"Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects" at The Museum of Modern Art, 2011. (photo by Scott Rudd)

A new exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern art features many items that you wouldn't expect to see in an art gallery environment. These range from a typical vending machine for New York City mass-transit passes to video games such as Sim City. But in the context of the show, titled "Talk to Me" (through November 7), these everyday items, along with much more creative (but still relatable) pieces, such as a Rubik's Cube enhanced with tangible Braille so that blind people can use the iconic puzzle, fit right in.

MOMA Talk to You

"Talk to Me" is on view at MoMA through November 7. (photo by Scott Rudd)

Why? The art exhibition is a playful and provocative intellectual and visual romp that prods viewers to consider how we interact with devices, gadgets and machines today. Through their presentation of nearly 200 objects, websites, and other projects, the curators of "Talk to Me"—Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, and Kate Carmody, Curatorial Assistant, both in MoMA's department of Architecture and Design—suggest that the more we connect emotionally with our gadgets, the more usable and effective they become.

The evidence to back this theory is in the real-world products that appear in the exhibition. Case in point: the software for a 911 Command Center, created by Electronic Ink, which features animated, rather than stagnant, on-screen iconography for radio channels that are active. It's intended to immediately catch the eye and attention of emergency-response workers by representing urgent information as if it appears "alive." This interface is currently in use not only as a 911 tool in one major American city, but also by airlines.

And that subway-pass vending machine, also on view at MoMA? Designed by Antenna Design, it uses bright, friendly colors and a simple, graphic interface to draw in commuters. Visitors to the art show can even use the kiosk to buy a New York City MetroCard. If they do, they not only purchase a ride home from the exhibition, but also a limited-edition work of art, as the cards sold there (at regular prices) bear the exhibition name.

MOMA Talk to You

An everyday MetroCard Vending Machine is on view as part of "Talk to Me".. Visitors can purchase a working MetroCard bearing the exhibition name. (photo by Scott Rudd)

Then there are pieces that are simply charming, such as "Tweenbot," a tiny, battery-operated robot by designer Kacie Kinzer. It's made from cardboard and features a sweet smiley face drawn in ink. Random people in New York City have been documented helping this robot find his way or rescuing him from situations that could destroy him in hectic urban settings. The "Tweenbot" project clearly shows that technology, even when very bare-bones, can connect with a variety of people if it seems to communicate with them.

MOMA Talk to You

"Tweenbot," a tiny, battery-operated robot by designer Kacie Kinzer gives a "human" face to modern technology.. (Photo by Scott Rudd)

MOMA Talk to You

Other items on display include these intriguing pieces. (photos by Timo Arnall)

Some of the art pieces, created as experiments in design, are not just artful, but could very well serve as early research and development for future medical or commercial tools. One of these is "The Eye Writer," created by friends of a graffiti artist known as TEMPT1 who has been diagnosed with the debilitating disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). When the artist became completely paralyzed except for his eyes and could no longer paint buildings using his hands, the team behind the Eye Writer (Zach Lieberman, James Powderly, Evan Roth, Chris Sugrue, and Theo Watson) added eye-tracking tech and custom software to a pair of glasses that allowed TEMPT1 to draw using his eye movements. It's a particularly moving work, and one that illustrates how people tap into their own emotions to design gadgets that have a humanitarian function.

The New York Times has called the art show "intelligent" and the International Herald Tribune has dubbed it "exhilarating." As it's on view for a few more months, it's definitely worth a visit. And even if you can't make it to MoMA, we've put together a list of items from the exhibition that you can purchase on eBay.

These unexpectedly museum-worthy items are a dime a dozen on eBay.

Rubik's Cube

(buy it now price, $5)

In the art work "Rubik's Cube for the Blind," German designer Konstantin Datz re-creates the iconic Rubik's Cube toy for people with poor eyesight by placing the Braille words for each color on the cube's squares. Its appearance in MoMA further signifies that the Rubik's Cube is a classic, collectible object. You can easily find Rubik's Cubes on eBay.
Spore

(buy it now price, $19.97)

This video game allows users to create their own life forms.
Jay-Z

(buy it now price, $6.99)

One beautiful graphic-design piece on view at "Talk to Me" is "Rap Almanac Visualization of Jay-Z's Career from Hip-Hop Word Count" by Tahir Hemphill. Hemphill used software to visualize stylistic aspects of rapper Jay-Z's songs, such as frequency of words. The result is a lovely abstract chart that is also searchable on-screen. Check out Jay-Z's hits with this collection on CD.
Sim City 2000

(buy it now price, $12.95)

This legendary video game, which allows players to create cities, is still popular years after it made its debut.
Squareup Credit Card Reader

(buy it now price, $2.99)

This sleek little accessory, on view at MoMA, allows anyone to turn their iPhone into a credit card reader, and is the first product by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's new, hyped start-up, Square.
iPad

(buy it now price, $389)

The "Talk to Me" exhibition features many works that can also be bought as iPad apps, such as the poetic "Analog Digital Clock," a video by Dutch designer Maarten Baas. The piece looks like a typical digital alarm clock with blocky letters, but really features video of an artist painstakingly painting, erasing, and re-painting the numbers for twelve consecutive hours.
HTC Evo Phone

(buy it now price, $277.99)

When visiting the "Talk to Me" exhibit, you can snap QR codes featured with each work on view to get more information on the object or project using a smartphone such as this one.
MetroCard from "Talk To Me"

(starting bid, $4.99)

The limited edition New York City mass-transit passes on sale in the galleries of MoMA during the run of "Talk to Me" are already available on eBay as collectible items.