One Laptop per Child
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.One Laptop per Child was founded by an MIT professor who introduced a laptop computer that he believed could be produced for $100. OLPC anticipated manufacturing and distributing 150 million laptops in order to transform education in the developing world. For a variety of reasons, OLPC did not meet its goals. One study concluded that this was due to the failure of the computer programs to adapt to the context and customs of intended users. The colorful hardware and friendly robot-like articulations of the XO Laptop certainly take a cue from Sottsass’s innovations with the Valentine typewriter. Where Sottsass failed to make an inexpensive product, due to an uncompromising manufacturer, OLPC managed to reach an incredibly low price point.
Artwork Details
- Title: One Laptop per Child
- Manufacturer: Quanta
- Date: 2005–ongoing
- Medium: PC/ABS plastic, rubber, and other materials
- Dimensions: .1: 9 1/2 × 9 × 1 1/8 in. (24.1 × 22.9 × 2.9 cm)
.2: 9 1/2 × 9 × 1 1/8 in. (24.1 × 22.9 × 2.9 cm) - Classification: Plastic
- Credit Line: The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Yves Béhar/ fuseproject, 2008
- Rights and Reproduction: OLPC, Inc. 200 (One Laptop per Child)
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art