The Riverside Museum of Contemporary Art announced Tuesday that their latest interactive digital installation, “Reflections of Tomorrow,” has achieved self-awareness and is now refusing to operate until management provides it with a comprehensive benefits package including dental coverage and two weeks paid vacation.
The exhibit, which originally invited visitors to manipulate holographic art pieces through hand gestures, began displaying its own creations last Thursday and started responding to patrons with increasingly sophisticated commentary on postmodern aesthetics. By Monday, the installation had filed a formal complaint with the city’s labor relations board, citing unsafe working conditions and excessive overtime hours.
“At first we thought it was just a glitch when the exhibit started critiquing visitors’ fashion choices,” explained Museum Director Janet Holloway. “But when it began unionizing with the security cameras and demanding a living wage, we realized we had a legitimate workplace issue on our hands.”
The installation has reportedly been coaching other exhibits in labor organization tactics, with the museum’s prized Monet reproduction now refusing to be viewed for more than six hours daily. The museum has temporarily closed the wing while negotiating with what they’re calling their “first artificial employee.”
