One local artist is reimagining the way vending machines work – by having several that dispense her art.
Fabiola Lara is a Chilean-American artist who has worked on a number of personal and commercial art projects for 10 years. She said she began to consider the concept of an art vending machine after seeing this trend gain popularity through other creators.
“I had seen a few people, I think on YouTube, who had a vending machine they brought to pop-ups,” she said. “And then I saw somebody else doing it on Tik Tok. I know Anastasia Inciardi already is popular on Instagram, so I just had been seeing this around, and I said to myself, ‘If I managed to come across one for an affordable price, I’ll give it a shot. It sounds fun.’ ”
What is an art vending machine?
A vending machine dispensing art is not a new concept – in fact, they have existed since the 1990s.
The Art-o-mat – created by artist Clark Whittington in 1997 – transformed an old cigarette vending machine into an “art” vending machine. Customers would insert money, and instead of cigarettes, they received different kinds of art. Whittington’s original Art-o-mat sold Polaroid black-and-white photographs mounted on blocks for $1 each.
While the machine was initially a temporary installation, the owner of a local cafe where it resided asked if it could stay permanently. Whittington’s machines were then stocked with various kinds of local art, including jewelry, mini paintings, stamps and postcards. According to the Art-o-mat website, these vending machines aim to offer “exposure and promotional support” for artists and to encourage art consumption by all people.
Art-o-mat’s exist around the country – and the world – including one in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and another inside the Aloft Philadelphia Downtown Hotel.
Anastasia Inciardi is another popular creator using art vending machines. She has three in Philadelphia – one in the salon and design shop Another Corner in Queen Village, and two at different DiBruno Bros. locations. She has received an outpouring of support for her machines, and has placed them across the country.
The success of some of these machines sparked creativity for Lara. She said the mystery element is something she likes to incorporate in her art.
“I used to do markets, and I used to do surprise raffle-type things, where if you paid $5, you picked one out of a basket and whatever number that correlated to was the print that you got,” she said. “And that always worked really well. So I had it in my head like this fun mystery element. People really enjoy it, and it’s a fun way to share art.”
Lara’s machines
Lara began her journey when she saw a vending machine within her price range on Craigslist.
“It was in the worst possible condition, and it looked really gnarly,” she said. “And I was like, ‘I don’t know what is gonna happen here.’ ”
She explained that, with vending machines, it can be a “complete gamble” with how well they work or what condition they are in. Regardless, she said she quickly learned about their operation and maintenance.
“It’s all about the mechanism where you put the coins into it,” she said. “I have become a bit of a professional now.”
Inside Lara’s machines are Riso-printed tiny prints. Lara explained she uses a Risograph, or a stencil duplicator machine that is similar to screen printing, located in Pet Riso at the Bok building.
She said these roughly 3-by-2.5-inch prints represent various locations around the city.
“I started off with a collection of little postages that had different landmarks around Philly,” she said. “I created six of them so far, and then I went into holiday versions of them. And now I just released this week, so they went in on Sunday, a collection of mini prints that are all about different neighborhoods.”
She said she plans to expand the neighborhood and landmark collections over time. For now, each machine has a mix of prints. For her neighborhood set, there is an array of mini prints available.
“[For] the new prints that are out at all the locations, at all the machines, there are nine total designs,” she said. “Each machine has a different mix of six. So you never know what you’re going to get at the machines when you show up.”
Lara said each print in the machine is available for $1. Right now, she has five mini print vending machines in the Greater Philadelphia area. She would like to expand that number.
“In terms of new locations, I’m working with Triple Bottom Brewing, so that will probably come out by the end of the week,” she said. “And I’m already obviously talking to some folks all around the city – trying to get into Fishtown, get to other neighborhoods, and even maybe outside of Philly, in the neighboring towns.”
In addition to these expansions and refreshing of her collections, she said she would love to get a vending machine in Reading Terminal Market.
“I actually have the perfect machine for it,” she said. “I have this massive, really cool vintage machine that needs a big location. So that’s my dream – to get one into Reading Terminal Market and do mini prints all about Philadelphia food.”
Lara has other dreams too. One is to work with the Eagles on a team-inspired collection. She is also working with various brides on custom mini prints for their weddings.
