An alternate universe · Today's Objects
Under the glass this week
Every object on MossStreet gets a real museum label. That was Murray's one non-negotiable in the merger talks: "If it's worth showing, it's worth labeling." Franklin got everything else he asked for, which is why there is also a song.
Manufacturer unknown, USA, c. 1969. Spun steel, hinged handle, profound attitude. The most-viewed object on the Street despite never being displayed indoors. Donor: refuses to be named. Label text approved by donor under duress: "Scram."
Designed Italy, 1994. Cast aluminum in the form of a smiling woman; opens bottles and, according to at least one five-year-old reviewer, "nothing else." The first object ever installed on MossStreet, displayed for eleven silent seconds before anyone said anything. Still under glass. Never once opened a bottle.
Designed Australia, 1990s. Composite materials, sculptural continuity, zero sit-ability. Subject of the episode "Near, Far, Extremely Expensive." Legal required a second rope after Grover's sales demonstration. The rope has its own smaller label now.
Designed Netherlands, one of one, glazed in colors that do not have names yet. Poured exactly once, on camera, by its maker. The resulting video remains the single most requested segment in the show's history. Price known to staff only; Big Bird guessed and was told "you're not far off," which became a T-shirt.
Designed Japan, recycled cardboard tubes. Holds an adult, a very large bird, or both briefly. Acquired during the MossStreet Tokyo co-production and displayed beside a tokonoma alcove built by the visiting set team. Murray called it "the best gallery annex we never had to lease." He says this every time anyone visits.
Designed nowhere specific, seized from a knockoff gallery across the Street, re-staged as an artwork about itself. Contains: nothing. Receives more sustained attention than any actual object, which Murray describes as "the joke working" and Franklin describes as "sweeps week."