We are really happy to share with you that at the beginning of the week Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator Department of Architecture and Design) and Michelle Millar Fisher, (Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design) published on the Moma blog a post announcing the acquisition of Arduino  and other DIY electronic devices in the collection of the  Museum of Modern Art of New York City, with this explanation:

As design curators, we have an instinctive response to designs we find compelling, and when that feeling survives the passing of time, we know we’re on to something worthwhile. We believe our new acquisitions will withstand that test. All promise to make a difference—not just in the utopian “design can save the world” kind of way (always good, but often a high bar for any one object), but at the very micro level. We all know what it feels like to master a skill previously thought completely outside our abilities, or to unlock new possibilities of experience and thought. It’s exhilarating, life-changing, and (healthily) addictive, the same reason people keep coming back to see MoMA’s Pollocks and Picassos—and, we hope, this new group of humble masterpieces.

That’s how they are describing Arduino:

A tiny but powerful microcontroller, the Arduino is an open-source, programmable microchip housed on a circuit board that fits in the palm of one’s hand—an apt metaphor for the control over design functions that it allows its user—and a pillar of contemporary maker culture and practice. Designed by a star-studded team, the Arduino can be programmed to drive components such as sensors, LEDs, and motors in order to build and develop all kinds of interactive objects. This new building block of design has resulted in applications as diverse as light sculptures, digital pollution detectors, and tools to help people who are unable to use such common interfaces as a computer mouse. Beyond its concrete applications, the Arduino acts as a platform for the interdisciplinary practice that lies at the heart of so much compelling contemporary work across science and the humanities.

Read the post on the Moma blog.

If you've ever been to a Maker Faire, you know its as much of an art show as a technology showcase. Builders debut everything from robotic bands to educational circuitry kits at these events, and the NYC Museum of Modern Art is about to immortalize five maker products into its permanent collection. Early next year, the Arduino, Ototo, Makey Makey, Colour Chaser and a DIY Gamer Kit will be on display in the MoMA's design galleries, serving as representatives of the maker culture to the museum's visitors. MoMA is excited about the new additions, but it's not the first time technology has found its way into the museum's collection: in 2011 both Botanicalls and Little Bits found its way into MoMA's galleries. Check out the announcement at the source link below.

[Image credit: NYC MoMA]

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Source: MoMA