According to a spokesperson: “It is a momentous, elating acquisition that makes us all proud.”

And then poses the question: “But what does it mean, both in conceptual and in practical terms?”

Don’t look at me … look at the symbol

If you are still at a loss then visit the the original post on the MoMA website here.

So how do you “acquire” something that is in the public domain anyway?

According to Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Department of Architecture and Design:

“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.”

It reminds me a bit of that scene in the film “Midnight Cowboy” where Ratso Rizzo is asked why he is stealing the party food when it was free, to which he replies: “Well, if it’s free, then I ain’t stealin’.

Still, I appreciate and applaud the humour behind this promotional stunt, even if the intellectual irony passes somewhat above my head.

But hey, if you only “get” even a fraction of what goes on at the MoMA then you are probably doing a lot better than most!

Now I’m off to tag a Boeing 747, a few orbiting satellites, and a whole bunch of smilies for my own museum … you know, the one that only exists in the world of my imagination. If you like, you can visit it someday too … but first you must find a Golden Ticket hidden inside the wrapper of an oversized chocolate bar….