Smithsonian's Art-o-Mat

The Art-o-mat machine has landed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. The contraption—an old-school cigarette vending machine that dispenses replicas of masterpieces the size of a cigarette pack—has graced several other art institutions over the last decade. The Art-o-mat was invented in 1997 by North Carolina artist Clark Whittington to vend original works of art the size of a pack of smokes to promote local artists. Nearly 100 of these vending machines now grace everywhere from museums and colleges to health food stores, with a network of over 400 artists from around the world supplying the art that usually runs $5 a pop. Check out the process of making an Art-o-mat machine here.