Vending machines that dispense art

I first heard about Art-o-mat when I was teaching in Eugene many years ago.  A fellow colleague told me about a vintage cigarette vending machine that dispensed miniature art at the local community college for $5 apiece.  I thought it was a brilliant idea.

There are currently 82 Art-o-mats in the U.S.  Venue, the art shop in Seattle that I mentioned yesterday, has the only one in the state of Washington.  While I was at the store, a customer came in to buy art from the Art-o-mat.  She paid for a token at the counter and browsed the selection of artists listed on the vending machine.  She found a landscape artist that piqued her interest, pulled the knob, and voilá! An original work of art for just a few dollars!