I first came across the work of Mokafolio in my Creative Coding class, also taught by Scott. This project has stayed in my mind ever since I saw it, and it’s called “Weird Faces Vending Machine”.
Here is a video on how it works:
This interactive art installation is considerate, thoughtful, intimate, and generous. Those are words you wouldn’t usually associate with machines, or even art as a matter of fact. Let me explain broadly how it works:
- The user swipes their credit card in the card reader, and for three dollars they get an original piece of artwork. Through creative coding, a new assortment of faces is drawn each time, different from any other previous print.
- The machine reads the name from the card, and addresses the person by name throughout the whole interaction.
- The back of each piece of artwork is signed, personalized with the name of the person who bought it, written in the artist’s handwriting.
I say it is considerate, because it speaks to you like a person, and uses your name. I say it’s thoughtful because it’s very activity challenges the idea of “original art” and what creates value. Is it truly originality? Or scarcity? In this we have originality without scarcity- there are thousands if not millions of different outcomes, virtuously endless. I say it is intimate because the use of handwriting, and the humor that the robot uses when talking with the user. I say it is generous because to give someone a piece of original art for $3, that addresses them by name is truly amazing. This clearly came from the heart of the artist. You can’t even expect your everyday NYC barista to remember your name for $5 a coffee.
Sorry that this is so late. It has been a very challenging semester for me. Please take a chance to check out the piece, and look through the rest of the artist’s work. He is doing some amazing things. Thanks!