Art-o-mat Art Vending Machine
The more I think about the Art-o-mat, the more I like it! It's a vending machine that sells affordable original art.
Here's the story from the founder of the Artomat, Clark Whittington..
"The year was 1997, the town was Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Whittington was set to have a solo art show at a local cafe, Penny Universitie (now Mary's Of Course Café). This is when Whittington used a recently-banned cigarette machine to create the first Artomat. In June 1997, it was installed, along with 12 of his paintings. The machine sold Whittington's black & white photographs for $1.00 each."
"This art show was scheduled to be dismantled in July 1997. However, Cynthia Giles (owner of the Penny Universitie) loved the machine and asked that it stay permanently and machine remains unaltered in its original location to this day. At that point, it was clear that involvement of other artists was needed if the project was going to continue. Giles introduced Whittington to a handful of other local artists and Artists in Cellophane was formed."
To see if there's an Art-o-mat near you, check out the website. Artists can also have their work added to the vending machines. Here's the guidelines for artists.
>>
Art Collecting,
Art Marketing,
General Arts
