Brutally Cool

Remember when you were a kid and the thrill of a vending machine?  

Using your allowance or a coin begged from your parents for toys gum, treats or trinkets?

For me it was every trip to the grocery store.  I had already staked out the best machine whichever store we went to, and knew that a calm pre-meditated approach for the money was waaaaay more effective than a frantic begging session. After all, if the first tactic didn't work, incessant begging could always be used as a backup plan.

As an adult, I don't get excited about vending machines anymore....it's the price of growing up I guess.  However.....I read about Art-O-Mat in a magazine and now I'm in danger of getting hooked again.   

Clark Whittington had the bright idea of re purposing cigarrette machines to dispense pocket-sized art.  For 5 dollars you can own an original piece of art by a legitimate artist!   Traditional, folk, portrait, sculpture, flip books...it's all at your fingertips.   I think this is absolutely cool, and am actually contacting them to get a machine in my hometown in Idaho and for Denver.  

How brutally cool is it to be an adult sometimes?  
Here's a few examples of what you might find popping out of a machine!

http://artomat.org/