Tip of the Week – Art-O-Mat!
Those gumball, trinket and candy machines that line the exit of your local supermarket are endlessly fascinating to kids and I do (more often than I should!) relent to my youngest child’s request for spare change to see what “treasure” emerges after a turn of the knob. Now picture an adult equivalent, dispensing not plastic nonsense, but tiny, original works of art and you’ve got Art-o-mat!
Since 1997, Art-o-mat has been turning old cigarette machines into vending machines for original art! Currently, over 400 artists contribute various forms of art ranging from photography to miniature paintings to jewelry and more, to be sold from over 80 machines around the country. The artwork is packaged in small boxes which, of course, are about the size of a cigarette pack. This grown up, innovative take on a child’s bubble gum machine, can be found in museums, galleries, libraries and even a few grocery stores!
The works of art retail for $5 to $7 and locations can be found on the Art-o-mat website. (Artomat) If one of these fabulous vending machines isn’t in your neighborhood, you can order an “art-o-carton” which brings a carton of ten pieces of art right to your door. A ten question questionnaire will guide the clever people at Art-o-mat as to which ten items will comprise the carton! (Art-o-Carton) Whether for yourself or as a gift, the art-o-carton is a unique and wonderful way to foster a love of art or add to an existing collection.
I can’t wait for one of these transformed vending machines to cross my path! If you’ve seen one, I’d love to hear!
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I think there is an Art O Mat in Blue Raccoon on Coryell Street in Lambertville…I know when the shop was Monkey Hill, there was one in there, it had a painting of a Pug on the front… But it’s changed hands now and I don’t know if it’s still there…
There was one in the Library in Doylestown…
and one at the Whitney in NYC.