First conceived in 1982, the Museum of Find Arts began its life as an informal accumulation of artifacts -- both two-dimensional images and three-dimensional objects -- retrieved from oblivion: salvaged by an inveterate scavenger from trash bins, dumpsters, sidewalks and other such places. As a rule, they bear neither their makers' names nor any indication of date of production or provenance; the dates given with these works are the date of acquisition (that is, the date on which they were found) and the place of their discovery. The viewer is free to speculate about all aspects of the work.

Since 1982, the collection has grown to include the usual assortment of objets d'art: prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works. These seem an adequate set of categories for organization of the collection, at least for the present time.

The goal was always to find some way to make the collection public, but not until the advent of the World Wide Web did a simple, inexpensive method for that appear. Now, thanks to this new communications technology, the collection can be represented via this virtual version of André Malraux's "museum without walls," and find an international audience. We think it deserves that attention, and hope it rewards yours in return.

Please feel free to browse at your leisure. Unlike most museums, the MFA has no rule requiring silence -- in cyberspace, no one can hear you criticize. And, so long as you keep your bottle of Windex handy, you're invited to touch the art to your heart's content.

-- A. D. Coleman, Chief Curator