WE CAN THANK THE LOS ANGELES TIMES  As a creative business, art has always been an important part of the Clients & Profits culture. The company has been a corporate sponsor of the arts community throughout its 22-year history and also has its own impressive collection of contemporary art. So when Mark Robillard, the company's founder and creative director, found a L.A. Times article about an art project called Art-o-mat, he wanted to get involved.

It was March 2003. Mark was a board member of the Oceanside Museum of Art and thought the Art-o-mat would be something cool for the museum store. Clients & Profits offered to underwrite the machine and donate 100% of it's sales to the museum. By the fall, our custom-painted surfboard-yellow machine (circa 1953) was installed an opening hosted by the Art-o-mat founder himself, artist Clark Whittington.

What are Art-o-mats? They are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend original art, which cost only $5.

The inspiration for Art-o-mat came to Clark while observing a friend who had a Pavlovian reaction to the crinkle of cellophane. When Whittington's friend heard someone opening a snack, he had the uncontrollable urge to have one too. The year was 1997, and Clark was set to have a solo art show at a local cafe in his hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He used a recently-banned cigarette machine to create the first Art-o-mat. The machine sold his black & white photographs for $1.00 each. After the show, the cafe's owner asked that it stay permanently and machine remains unaltered in its original location to this day.

Clark's organization, Artists in Cellophane, manages the Art-o-mat's 80+ machines and over 500 artists. Having recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, its mission reamins to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. A.I.C believes that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable. What better way to do this, than with a heavy cold steel machine?


Mark and Clark at SECCA, Winston-Salem, March 2007

Clients & Profits has been an enthusiastic sponsor of the Art-o-Mat since 2003 and proudly hosts two machines in its Oceanside office, which are open to the public. New Art-o-mat artworks arrive every other month and are a favorite "thank-you" gift for clients, vendors, and friends.


Find an Art-o-mat near you.

Are you a designer? An artist? Here's how to get your art in an Art-o-mat.