Friday, August 10, 2007

Cellophane Matters

Little art spread wide.

Artists in Cellophane is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the Art*o*Mat next week with a swap-meet party - with bands! - in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, tobacco country, where the good idea was conceived. Yessirreebob, art from a cigarette machine was a very good idea! spread now to some 90 locations nationwide, machines dropping art the size of a pack of smokes. Ten Years Kerplunking Culture is their anniversary slogan.

Kilgore Trout claims cellophane is the stuff of the universe.

Clark Whittington noticed that the happy sound of crinkling cellophane inspires consumption. He made art, wrapped it in cellophane, stacked it in a vending machine. The Art*o*Mat was born.

After the first one, Whittington filled the next and the next with work of artists of all kinds, from all over. I myself have a pinhole photograph by Emily Long of Chicago from an Art*o*Mat in Santa Monica. You could too. Visit Art*o*Mat for an Art*o*Mat near you.