The Hammond Regional Arts Center’s Art-O-Mat is now open to anyone who wants to present original and handmade art. The artwork can be purchased from the Art-O-Mat machine. Brianna Hawkins/The Lion's Roar

The Hammond Regional Arts Center has introduced a new piece of machinery that has been highly received among many locals. 

The machine, known as an Art-O-Mat, has been open to attendees since Jan. 3 and is used as a way to help support new and emerging artists while also giving people small, original and handmade pieces of art with the help of a token.

Executive Director of HRAC Maureen Joyce explained how the Art-O-Mat was created and how it is used.

“The Art-O-Mat is a refurbished and repurposed cigarette machine,” said Joyce. 

Joyce credited creation of the Art-O-Mat to artist Clark Whittington from North Carolina who came up with the creation in 1997. 

“Winston-Salem, North Carolina, if you don’t know, was like a huge tobacco industry town,” said Joyce. “This artist named Clark Whittington decided to get all of these outlawed cigarettes vending machines, and he started with his own artwork in the vending machine and mainly his photographs. Then, he realized it was a wonderful way to introduce people to artists all over the country.”

Joyce shared her reasons for why she wanted the Art-O-Mat at HRAC.

“My top reasons are to bring people into this amazing art center that’s here for the community, support local emerging artists,” said Joyce. “That’s a big piece for me and a part of our mission here. It’s also to get more young people and students appreciating the arts in our community. What I love about having one in Hammond is that the Art-O-Mat kind of has a cult following so to speak that since we’re a little bit smaller town, it might not be on most people’s radar.” 

According to Joyce, HRAC Media coordinator Tara Bennett was  influential in the decision to get the Art-O-Mat. 

“She was extremely instrumental in me having the confidence to present it to the board because I knew how much she liked it,” said Joyce.

So far, reception for the Art-O-Mat has been positive since its debut.

“It’s been fantastic for its unveiling and debut at the Marjorie Morrison Sculpture Biennial,” said Joyce. “We sold out of our first set of tokens. So, we sold 55 tokens just that evening.”

Joyce believes the Art-O-Mat will be a good way to get young people to appreciate art.

“My teenage daughter was a huge fan of the Art-O-Mat,” said Joyce. “So, I recognize that for young people who are on a limited budget but still appreciate original art and creativity, they could be part of that process and kinda see the difference between manufactured and handmade.”

Joyce feels that with the creation of the Art-O-Mat, more people can become interested and educated about art.

“The cigarette machine used to be an unhealthy addiction, but art is what I called a healthy addiction because art feeds your soul,” said Joyce. “At least, it does mine, and I think it feeds everyone, but they just don’t know it yet until they start going. I’m kinda inspired by this, or I’m inspired by that person’s creativity, or I’m inspired by their craftsmanship, or I’m inspired by their attention to detail or their subject matter, and it makes me think about my own life in a meaningful way.” 

Joyce also shared how people could get involved in getting their art into the Art-O-Mat.

“You create like a prototype and create an application, and you send that to them, and they decide whether to accept you or not,” said Joyce. “You would create a format where you would create your artwork to where it would fit in a cigarette pack, and you could sell art through a vending machine.”

Joyce explained how the Art-O-Mat website works. 

“So, if you want to be an artist in cellophane, that’s what you’re called if you become an Art-O-Mat distributor,” said Joyce. “If you go to the Art-O-Mat website, it’ll either ask if you are interested in having an Art-O-Mat machine in your location or are you interested in becoming an artist who distributes your work through the Art-O-Mat vending machine because it’s not just a way to get people to buy original art. It’s also a way to support emerging artists in a particular community.” 

Anybody can put art into the Art-O-Mat as long as it’s handmade and original.

“You can’t just put anything into the Art-O-Mat,” said Joyce. “It’s controlled by Clark because he’s a fine artist, and he wants to promote a certain caliber of art to where it is original, it is handmade, there’s some intention behind it and there’s some expression behind it so it’s gonna be interesting to purchase that.”

Various types of artwork are featured in the Art-O-Mat.

 “We have everything from ceramic sculptures to tarot earrings to linoleum cut block press and to hand-painted portraits of dogs,” said Joyce. “It’s anything the artist’s imagination can come up with, but it does have to be handmade, and it does have to be original.”

Joyce explained the major difference between the Art-O-Mat and usual artwork selling.

The major difference is obviously the $5 price point,” said Joyce. “Also, the scale and obviously fitting in to the size of a cigarette pack and that it connects you nationally. You know most of the time in a small regional art center like ours, we wouldn’t be able to reach out to national artists. So, it’s a way to introduce locals to not only local artists who are in their area.” 

Joyce discussed alternative ways to purchase and learn about art. 

“It’s a way to get to know artists because all of these artists have a larger body of work,” said Joyce. “So, you might be buying this small token piece of art through a vending machine, but then you might learn about their larger paintings or their larger sculptures.”

Joyce revealed that the cost of the Art-O-Mats could range from $15,000 to $20,000. HRAC is happy that they were able to receive a sponsorship.

“We got a little more authentic version,” said Joyce. “Our Art-O-Mat was originally in a real dive bar in West Virginia, so it got some stories to tell. It was also the most economical option, and we’re lucky to get a sponsorship from Red, White, and Blue and Fumee, which are both owned by Todd Delaune.