Affordable, accessible art at the Art-o-mat in the Chicago Cultural Center

I did a double-take when I spotted the cigarette vending machine in the Chicago Cultural Center, with not a smoker in sight, until I realized it was one of those cool Art-o-mat machines I'd always wanted to see. I even checked out the Art-o-mat Web site more than a half-dozen years ago with hopes of finding one close enough to home so I could talk my editor at the local newspaper into letting me do a story about it (there wasn't a machine in our circulation area at the time, so I couldn't do the story--being able to cover some of the great stories I find, without worrying about a such a narrow circulation area, is another reason I love doing my own blog!)

Smokers, and former smokers, may remember the long-ago ritual of strolling up to a vending machine, selecting their smokes, inserting some change, and giving a hard yank to the knob that acted to release your cellophane-wrapped smokes, with a soft thump, to a slot at the bottom of the machine. Cigarette machines in my memory often sported cool art with a 50s, 60s, or early 70s vibe, and the eerie glow they cast when placed in the darkest corner of a bar just added to the seemingly slightly illicit thrill of buying your smokes.

With smoking becoming increasingly becoming verboten over the years, you see the old cigarette machines less and less. And you wonder more and more if the vending machines sinking into disuse simply end up in landfills or cluttering up some old storeroom.

Artist Clark Whittington had a better idea.

Whittington first used an old cigarette vending machine to dispense prints of his black-and-white photographs at one dollar apiece in 1997, setting it up beside some of his paintings at a solo show he mounted in North Carolina. Gallery owner Cynthia Giles asked if the machine could remain in the space even after Whittington's show ended. Whittington agreed, but only after working with Giles to fill the machine with work from a variety of other local artists, as well as his photos.

It somehow seems fitting that the concept originated in North Carolina, where the tobacco industry played an important part in the state's history and economy, and still figures prominently in the state's economy.

Today there are 82 active Art-o-mat machines, mostly in the United States, stocked with mini masterpieces from about 400 artists from 10 different countries. The Art-o-mat site promotes the project as a great way to help people become "art collectors" by putting a piece of original artwork in purchaser's hands for five dollars.

All right, so I was sold.

I went into the Cultural Center's gift store to buy my Art-o-mat token and start collecting art--but not before trying to take a photo of my token as the long-suffering Tim looked on.

Token in hand, I stood before the machine and perused the various art offerings. Earrings, mini sheep, micro-sized painting and boxes gave little clue as to their content beckoned.

I went for the black box, deposited my token, gave the knob a hard yank, and heard the box land with a soft thump in the slot at the bottom of the machine.

My "art" was cleverly packaged in a cellophane wrapped box that turned out to be a recycled hard cardboard ciggie box painted black. I loved the experience of using the machine, I loved the packaging with its cool logo, and I loved the whole recycling vibe represented by the machine and box.

The "art"? It was a topically typical thing with the peace sign patch and quote about faith, or lack thereof. Clark Whittington himself said the project was about selling an experience as much as it was about selling art, and I'd managed to amuse myself and make Tim sigh and roll his eyes several times--so much fun for a fiver!

For my money, my Art-o-mat excursion was one I'd do again, and it looks like there is now at least one Art-o-mat machine very close to my home!

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Comments

[Madeline]

I'm sure I've walked by that thing so many times but I never would have thought to stop and look at it. Next time I'm in the Cultural Center, or anywhere nearby, I'll make sure to go. Sounds like a fun thing to do with kids, too. Thanks for posting!

[Dominique]

Madeline-The whole experience was fun...kind of like one of those gumball machines where you get a little mystery box top open, with a fun gift inside. It seems like a cool way for artists to get their work out in a really accessible format.