Abstract

The Ultimate Vending Machine explores the relationship between art, labor, and capitalism. It is a self-referential vending machine that vends the process of vending, turning the act of buying and selling into a statement challenging the traditional notion of commerce. Through the Ultimate Vending Machine, the artist raises questions about the invisible labor that goes into producing the commodities we consume, the action of buying and selling, and the commodification of art. The artwork consists of five items that document the invisible labor involved in vending. These items are a flipbook of the machine's creation, a GIF player showcasing the making of the machine, a stamp with purchasing instructions, an SD card containing production files, and a Volume One catalog. These items not only provide insight into the production process of the machine but also become commodities themselves, adding to the layers of commodification present in the artwork. The Ultimate Vending Machine challenges the traditional model of art production and consumption by blurring the lines between art and commerce. It also exposes the labor that goes into producing the commodities we consume and how this labor is often hidden from view. The self-referential nature of the vending machine highlights the circular nature of capitalism and how it feeds on itself to perpetuate growth and profit. Through the Ultimate Vending Machine, the artist encourages the viewer to reflect on their own consumption habits and the labor that goes into producing the goods they consume. It also invites the viewer to question the commodification of art and how it impacts the value we place on artistic creations. Overall, the Ultimate Vending Machine is a thought-provoking artwork that challenges our preconceived notions of art and commerce. It provides a unique perspective on the invisible labor involved in producing the commodities we consume and how this labor is often hidden from view. The Ultimate Vending Machine invites us to reflect on our own consumption habits and the impact they have on the world around us.

Research

As I developed my project on vending machines, I came across articles that discussed how a seamless point of sale, such as electronic payment methods, could bring economic benefits. I was particularly struck by David Humphrey's research from 2001, which focused on how relatively low-cost electronic payment has great potential economic benefits. More recently, Nilani Ratnasri and Tharaga Sharmilan talked about how IoT (Internet of Things) and machine learning integrated with vending machines can satisfy customer preferences better. The development of transactions of goods and currency is designed to be more seamless, cheaper, and faster to gain more sales. As a direct medium of such integration of capitalism and technology, vending machines are artifacts of the penetration of capitalism. In this project, I hope to shed light on this topic and find a humorous narrative to evoke the audience to critically think about the topic. It always feels uncanny for me to see someone restocking a vending machine. Not only does it feel like spotting a black squirrel on the lawn, but the restocking moments also reveal the invisible labor in the transactions between humans and machines of the customer buying from a vending machine. The moments serve as a reminder to the customer that the currencies they fed the machine will end up in some company and eventually some individual’s wallet, and that they are paying not only for the goods but also for the labor of producing and transporting the goods to them at this site. On the topic of invisible labor, I was inspired by an ITP alumnus, Matt Richardson, who made a Descriptive Camera using the Amazon Turk Service in 2021. The project is a camera that outputs a text description of the scene, and the data is sent to crowd-sourcing services provided by Amazon where a physical human writes out the description of the scene. The tone of this project is very proximate to what I hope to accomplish with The Ultimate Vending Machine. In addition to my own project, I found many vending machines from other artists. Some of the vending machines take advantage of their capitalist nature and employed it to foster artistic communities. For example, Good Things Vending started by Steph Krim in 2018 focuses on vending local artists’ works, goodies, and fun vintage objects at unexpected places. Similarly, Artomat is a chain of vending machines that sell artists’ work. Both projects are encouraging art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. Another direction I considered was to use the low-cost vending process to criticize a specific type of goods and vending process. Gabe BC made a DNA vending machine where each box being sold in his machine contains a collectible portrait of a human specimen - their DNA. As a comparison between the idea of a collectible object to personal bioinformatics and privacy, his DNA vending machine successfully gives the audience that wake-up slap on the topic. In my project, the product is crucial, and I hope to convey my narrative through it. I also hope to adopt a sense of community as the project develops, similar to the community-centered approach in Good Thing Vending and Artomat. Additionally, I hope to incorporate humor and self-referential elements in my project to critique capitalism. During the winter break, I was inspired by one of the biggest inspirations for this project in a unique bookstore, Casa Bosques in Mexico City, which sold artist-designed chocolate bars wrapped in beautiful packaging. The idea of self-referential and humorous packaging in capitalism became a big influence in my project.   See Further Reading for more details.

Technical Details

The Ultimate Vending Machine vends the process of vending, and the collection of Volume One includes five items that document the invisible labor in vending. Flipbook of its creation: This is a small book that contains a series of still images that, when flipped through quickly, create the illusion of motion. It documents the process of creating the Ultimate Vending Machine. GIF player of the making of the player: This is a small digital device that plays a looping animation (known as a GIF) of the creation process of the Ultimate Vending Machine. Stamp with purchasing instructions: This is a physical stamp that can be used to stamp purchasing instructions onto any surface. The stamp reads "Insert coin, pull handle, receive process." SD card with production files: This is a small digital storage device that contains the production files used to create the Ultimate Vending Machine. It includes design files, images, and other data. Volume One catalog: This is a printed catalog that includes information about the Ultimate Vending Machine, as well as the other products in the Volume One collection. It serves as a record of the project and its various components.