Madame Pickwick Art Blog Art and media blog of the unexpected

Art-O-Mat:Where Were You in ’62

Canadian Art-O-Mat in action

Art-O-Mat is a brainy and somewhat subversive idea of Clark Whittington which consisted of converting retired,homeless and vagrant cigarette machines into selling original works of art for $5 bucks each.Clark has repaired and restored the original units  to even the smallest details.The machines are highly unusual in that each of the 82 operating vending units  is unique and in itself a work of art, a pop art scuplture of sorts thats mocks the consumerist and imperial ambitions of the large tobacco companies. Artists In Cellophane is the sponsoring organization that handles the packaging and distribution of the art ensuring that it fits into a cigarette shaped package. Art-O-Mat originally celebrated its 10 th anniversary so these mobile art hot-rods are hopefully here to stay.