The DVD Dead Drop, An Ongoing Exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens

Photo via Aram Bartholl

The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens has an interesting ongoing exhibit entitled “DVD Dead Drop.” The exhibit was set up by the artist Aram Bartholl and is a continuation of Bartholl’s series of offline file-sharing networks in public spaces, entitled

.  In the first Dead Drops iteration, USB flash drives were embedded into walls, buildings and curbs in and around Brooklyn and New York City, later expanding around the world organically. The response was so enthusiastic, that Bartholl decided apply the concept to the DVD.

The concept is simple: Bartholl has embed an inconspicuous, slot-loading DVD burner into the side of the Museum of the Moving Image that is available to the public 24 hours a day. Anyone who finds the DVD Dead Drop and inserts a blank DVD-R into the slot will get back a digital art exhibition, a collection of media, or other featured content curated on a monthly cycle by Bartholl or selected artists.

You can check out the current and prior DVD’s here, see an album of official photos from this installation. Read more about Dead Drops on Untapped Cities.