An Art-o-mat is a recycled cigarette machine which sells miniature works of art in a variety of formats. A young man by the name of Clark Whittington, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was first inspired by the idea in 1997. Prompted by the suggestion of another friend, Red Maxwell, Clark found an old cigarette machine and began selling his own art out of it from a local eatery.

As his exhibit time finished he was set to dismantle it, however cafe owner Cynthia Giles liked the concept so much she asked it to remain. With her help the two of them began soliciting input and projects from other artists. Today there are 64 machines in 10 countries, and over 400 artists participating.

Most displays are set to $5 per piece. Like many other vending machines one can chose which person's art to select when purchasing some. As well, some machines feature a "random collection" set, with each piece being by a different person or group. The forms of art vary greatly and can include anything from pastel sketches to homemade earrings to abstract metal works. Each has the overall stored dimension of approximately one oversized pack of cigarettes.

Some states have only one or two machines, such as Ohio and Florida, respectively ; Clark's home state of North Carolina has the most, at 24.

External link :

http://www.artomat.org - Official website