Where else but in Detroit could you find more than 10,000 square feet of prime real estate devoted to, essentially, an idea whose time will never come – and, ironically, if it ever does it’s a failure?

MONA, the Museum of New Art, occupies the second floor of the Book Building on Washington Boulevard, overlooking what was once one of the most prestigious urban promenades in America (enormous windows still beguilingly face a delicious architectural landscape). Devoted to cutting edge contemporary art that, by and large, has served as an off-putting social critique of popular culture and the avant garde of media experimentation, MONA is overseen by Jef Bourgeau, who is legendary for being ignored for his Contemporary Art Museum in Pontiac and for being the center of a race, sex and art curatorial conflict at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

In the project’s new space and form, it looks like Bourgeau has inspired interest from the art community, and the inaugural exhibition, if it’s any indication of direction, fulfills exactly what the Detroit art scene so desperately needs.

"Documenta USA" uses the peripheral support materials of contemporary art as a survey of what’s happening, on an international level, in contemporary art. Catalogs, revolving slide and video exhibitions – including Spencer Tunick’s delightful "Naked Series" and Nina Glaser’s caked nudes – reviews, postcard announcements in research boxes, as well as antique Opticons beckon visitors to be their own researchers, to examine the world of new art and thus in a sense be the creators of it.

In addition, the response to Bourgeau’s ingenious idea (to create an active archive collection by sending an open invitation to all artists to submit a work that fits inside a standard archive box) has been strong, with leading artists from around the world (including Jenny Holzer, Vito Acconci, Arman and Christo) creating works that MONA has used to construct a most inviting installation piece.

Asked what "contemporary art" is, Bourgeau responds, "Any art that hasn’t accumulated a history as yet. It is fresh and challenging to status-quo visions of art."

That won’t be a problem in a conservative city like Detroit, but staying ahead of the game may be the challenge and MONA will need all of our support.

– Glen Mannisto