THE CANDY MACHINE (2013 - 2016)
Materials: Winchester Model 1894 rifle (disabled), salvaged Aluminum, open- source electronics, assorted candy
Dimensions: 5 x 4 x 3 ft
The Candy Machine was made by disabling a Winchester Model 94 rifle and taking advantage of its ingenious, once revolutionary, lever-action reloading mechanism. The idea for this art installation originates from the popular commodity vending machines, drawing a parallel between the accessibility & ubiquity of weapons today to the ease of procuring candy from a street side vending machine.
The installation uses a minimalistic crankshaft system with a small stepper motor to automate the Winchester ’94 receiver mechanism, which has been modified to work with specially designed candy capsules. The gun magazine can store 7 ‘candies’ and each time a token is dropped in, the mechanical receiver dispenses a candy in lieu of a bullet shell.
The installation is programmed and controlled through a Raspberry Pi board. The price of each candy is linked to a weapons stock index* and it is readjusted for each purchase based on the most current index value**. Once a coin is fed into the slot, the installation recalculates the new value in real time before ejecting a piece of candy. During regular trading hours, the index value changes constantly in accordance with the movement of the 5 stocks that it contains.
* Market cap weighted index of 5 leading weapons & ammo stocks (SWHC, RGR, VSTO, OLN, CAB)
**Held constant at the day’s closing index value after 4pm EST (NYSE close time)
Programming: Kostadin Ilov
© 2016 Constantine Zlatev
