The IBM Museum of Art

In the latest issue of Newsweek, IBM placed a three page fold out ad, the cost of which could most likely subsidize the artistic output of a dozen artists for a year. The advertisement touts the “partnership” the monolithic corporation enjoys with New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and boasts of the role the business giant will play in the corporate controlled museums of the future; “Invisible IBM infrastructure at the newly renovated Museum of Modern Art is setting the stage for a revolution in the ways the museum’s collection can be shared with the public. Art is impossible to predict; it thrives on the unexpected. That’s why MoMA’s new infrastructure was designed to serve the infinite possibilities of art that doesn’t even exist yet. Built-in flexibility means the museum will be ready to accommodate whatever comes its way." Without a doubt, the “revolution in the ways the museum’s collection can be shared with the public” does not include the elimination of MoMA’s $20 entrance fee. Unfortunately it does mean further manipulation, influence, and hegemony over art institutions by big business. Nonetheless, IBM’s declaration that “art is impossible to predict” is absolutely true. Why, even as I type this… artists are creating works that will defy accommodation.