art*o*mat

this is quite possibly the coolest thing i've seen in a long, long time. and all thanks to tammy deane of va beach, va. aside from giving me a tour of her dwell-worthy home, tammy introduced me to artomat a program that rehabs old vending machines and fills them with original, affordable art. if you're not intrigued already, read on:

"The inspiration for Art*o*mat® came to artist Clark Whittington while observing a friend who had a Pavlovian reaction to the crinkle of cellophane. When Whittington's friend heard someone opening a snack, he had the uncontrollable urge to have one too. 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. Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.), the sponsoring organization of Art*o*mat®, is based on the concept of taking art and "repackaging" it to make it part of our daily lives. The mission of A.I.C. is to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. A.I.C believes that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable."

i'm so in love with this idea that i'm going to make a trip to my local artomat at the whitney this weekend. click here to find one near you (they are all over the country, and one in england!) and support artists in the us. you can also click here to find out how you can have YOUR work in an artomat. enjoy! [thanks, tammy!]