Day 5: Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Rough day for conzept kiosk. 

Gluten-free, vegan (though very tasty) banana walnut bread was cut and packaged in the morning. 16 pieces set out at 9am. The sun was shining, but the day soon turned rainy.

Passed by kiosk around 11pm to find that sign, tray, and $ container were all gone. Later found that kind roommate brought the sign and the tray in at 10pm. The entire $ container, however, was gone! Given the comparative success of the previous three days, it was decided that this theft was due to materials being left out past nightfall. Will make every effort to bring in kiosk in early evening in the future.

16 of 16 treats taken. $0.00 earned.

Sign sanded and repainted late at night. Coconoat cookies made from an invented recipe, with a good taste and decent texture.

Day 4: Tuesday 20 May 2008

Sign repainted in the morning and 19 chilled marzipan treats were bagged and placed outside on kiosk at around 9am.

The chilling process did not work quite as well as anticipated and marzipan was still a bit gooey.

Shattered jar from the previous evening was replaced with a narrow-necked glass canister. While the money still remains open to the public and able to be removed if desired, it would be more labor intensive to do so with this new container.

The entire day proved to be very rainy.

Enlisted a roommate to to collect $ container and tray of uneaten treats during the early evening. Arrived late to find that 16 of 19 marzipan chocolates were taken. $5.53 was counted from the $ jar. This was the first unmonitored day in which not only change, but also a dollar bill was left.

Late at night gluten free vegan banana walnut bread was made; left to cool and set overnight.

Day 3: Monday, 19 May 2008

Little preparation was made yesterday for today's featured treat: vegan oatmeal raisin. An impromptu batch was made early in the morning, yielding reasonably good cookies– tasty, but a bit too crispy. 18 were put out on kiosk at 9am.

Later learned of two interesting stories from roommates. One passed by in the morning with only 10 cents to buy a piece. A generous soul came up to her and offered the remaining 15 cents to put into the jar. Another passed by at noon, and said there was at least one bill inside the $ jar at that time. However, upon bringing kiosk inside gallery at 6:30 pm, only change was discovered in the jar...

Minor setback occurred upon lifting cage in front of window in the evening. The kiosk was not pulled out far enough from the window and toppled forwards due to the upward motion of the cage. The $ jar shattered on the sidewalk. It was cleaned up and all change was collected. $3.97 total in jar (including initial 75 cents "bait money").

Sign sanded in the evening and chocolate marzipan (invented recipe) was made and refrigerated overnight.

Day 2: Sunday, 18 May 2008

After the sugary chocolate overload of yesterday's opening, a lighter treat was in store for Day 2. Pear almond tart (vegan, soy free), an invented and already tested recipe was made in the morning. No refined sugars were used, only agave, pure maple syrup, and the natural sweetness of dates and figs. Typically, the tart would be made in a classic circular pan and cut into triangles, however, for ease of packaging, a square pan of tart was made and cut into 9 equal pieces.

It was decided that this would not be enough to satisfy the hungry weekend passerbys and another was quickly made in the circular tart pan. Dates had run low, so figs were substituted with a very delicious result. The beauty of the treat was compromised by the small plastic bags that contained them, but it was decided that this was necessary for reasons of sanitation and protection from the elements.

Sign was sanded and repainted to read "Pear Almond tart (vegan)." 

12 pieces were put out at around 1pm. Almost instantly, a female passerby excitedly took two, exclaiming her awe of the fact they were really vegan. Kiosk was placed directly in front of gallery window and underneath a slightly overhanging roof ledge.

Kiosk was left out for the rest of the day, though it began to rain only an hour after being put out.

Upon being collected at 6pm, all treats were taken and $2.55 were in the $ jar. This accounted for the sale of 10.2 of the 12 pieces at 25 cents per piece. Luckily the rain did not damage installation in any way.

Considered a successful day for conzept kiosk.

Day 1: Saturday 17 May 2008, the Opening

Baking preparations for Conzept Kiosk Brooklyn's opening day were underway Friday, the evening before the kiosk was set to debut. Chocolate chip cookie batter was prepared in two large double batches to be cooked the next morning. All as planned, all appeared to be moving along smoothly. Until. Baking tests were done with the freshly made batter to be sure that it would yield good results. Although it was prepared exactly according to the previously developed recipe, the cookies proved to be flat and rather greasy. Far from the near perfect test cookies pulled from the oven just days before, they were practically inedible and very ugly. Batter was allowed to chill over night with the addition of more flour, in hopes of a morning miracle.

No miracle was in store for conzept kiosk, however. New ingredients had to be purchased and batter was made, this time in smaller batches (and with more desperation). Results were lovely in appearance and taste would later be vouched for by kiosk patrons.

The best cookies were chosen to put out on the kiosk at 1pm, along with a jar with a $ sign to collect the requested price of 25 cents per cookie. Approximately 12 flatter, crisper ones were left behind to be used in case of emergency. The kiosk was placed just outside the door to the gallery on the sidewalk, but it was quickly revealed that droppings from birds perched on the building ledge above could potentially fall on the kiosk in that position. It was moved further outwards on the sidewalk.

Baking onsite in gallery space began promptly at 1pm. Cookies were eagerly taken right away by patrons, who were, for the most part, invited guests, but also various neighbors and passerbys. Milk and soymilk was also served to compliment the chocolate chip cookies. The batter was very carefully and slowly prepared. The small toaster ovens yielded rather nice (though somewhat flat), gooey treats. Each was taken individually by spatula from toaster oven tray to kiosk so that patrons could enjoy them warm if they so chose.

By 2:30 pm, stock was low and was replenished with the flat "rejects" from the apartment, almost all of which were also eaten. By 3pm, baking was complete, birds had started to swoop towards the crumbs, only 2 cookies remained on kiosk, and the $ jar was full. The time had come to pack all away.

All baking supplies and tables were removed from the gallery interior space, so that only the collage, flooring, and kiosk structure remained within and visible from the street.

An estimated 60 cookies were purchased, total earned, $35.68. 

Very successful opening day for conzept kiosk brooklyn. But the true test is yet to come.

Conzept kiosk sincerely thanks all those who helped make the opening performance successful, from spreading the word, to baking and setup assistance, to photography, and of course, eating.

*more photos to come!

Preparations for Conzept Kiosk Brooklyn

Conzept Kiosk Brooklyn opens Saturday May 17th with a delicious performance at Soapbox Gallery, 636 Dean Street, Prospect Heights. The show will continue for the two weeks following the performance, with requested participation from those passing by the exhibition space.

Unless there is torrential downpour, a severe case of graffiti, or theft, the show will go on, with a different public offering each day.

As of now, kiosk has been built from wood scraps, sign is in the midst of being painted, collage is nearly complete, oven and tray for offering has been purchased, and baking tests are in progress. Baking is not a task of stress; some recipes are already tried and true, others can be thrown together at the last minute, with excellent result. However, for the opening performance, the perfect chocolate chip is sought. Crisp, chewy, not too sweet... This proves to be more difficult than any of the vegan, gluten free, exotic specialty confections could ever be. Various recipes, claiming to be "the ultimate chocolate chip recipe" were found and strictly followed. Horrible, cake-like biscuits, nearly hockey pucks, were pulled from the oven each time. Perhaps it was the addition of agave syrup instead of regular sugar, or whole wheat flour, or even an overly methodical sifting of the flour. Upon attempt number four, all recipes were tossed and conzept kiosk relied on intuition and the powers that be. Results: quite good. The portable oven inevitably produces a denser creature, but still very edible.

***Artist will bear no responsibility for any bodily harm caused by ingested goods. While all products put out on kiosk are perfectly safe and healthy, the exhibition remains unmonitored throughout the day and patrons should participate at their own risk.***

Concept Kiosk Kökar: An Introduction

During my recent residency on the island of Kökar, Finland, I built a kiosk. This was a response to a fascination with the local structures of exchange, both the social/cultural and physical structures that I discovered in my new surroundings.

The project that I completed during Autumn 2007 was an installation and engagement with the local community, entitled "Concept Kiosk Kökar." Around the island, simple wooden roadside "kiosk" structures are built by local residents, selling goods such as apples and flowers during the summer. These structures are unattended and the buyer simply leaves the money in exchange for goods taken.

This phenomenon of trust, as well as the physical object of the kiosk, greatly appealed to me. I sought to offer my own cultural and personal history to this unfamiliar community via my version of the kiosk. I cobbled together a spontaneous construction of found materials, and decided to offer a different baked item every day for the remainder of my stay.

My choice of public offerings had a wide range of variation, and was indicative of where I come from. My project was partly a test to see if the traditional islanders would be receptive to the idea, and partly an exercise in surveillance. During the process, the kiosk's daily results were exhaustively documented. The project ended successfully (in my assessment) and reaffirmed my impressions of the honest, curious people that I encountered on the island.