A Startup Sticks Around
A 10th-anniversary exhibition at Urban Artware shows why Art-o-Mat's creator deserves applause for selling his great idea
By Tom Patterson
JOURNAL COLUMNIST
Winston-Salem Journal
Sunday, August 17, 2007
In this era of incessant novelty and minuscule attention spans, the ability to maintain any art-related business for 10 years counts as a noteworthy success. Clark Whittington and the many other artists associated with his Art-o-mat have a good reason to celebrate.
As a key component of this month's Art-o-mat 10th anniversary celebration, Urban Artware is presenting a lively, informative and innovatively installed exhibition of Art-o-mat artworks and related materials. Titled "Art-o-facts," it's a lot of fun to explore, and it does a great job of putting Art-o-mat in perspective.
Because it's the brainchild of a local artist and its machines have been fixtures on the local art scene for so long, Art-o-mat tends to get taken for granted in Winston-Salem. Spend 30 minutes to an hour perusing the display of art and information in this show, and you're likely to come away with a much better understanding of the concept and why it has enjoyed such international success. Art-o-mat may be a home-grown product, but it's still quite remarkable, and its success has everything to do with Whittington's industriousness, solid marketing instincts and sensitivity to fellow artists and their concerns. Participants are serious artists who like the idea of making works that can be offered so cheaply - currently $5 a piece, up from $1 each when the business was founded.
(Click here to read the full article.)
A 10th-anniversary exhibition at Urban Artware shows why Art-o-Mat's creator deserves applause for selling his great idea
By Tom Patterson
JOURNAL COLUMNIST
Winston-Salem Journal
Sunday, August 17, 2007
In this era of incessant novelty and minuscule attention spans, the ability to maintain any art-related business for 10 years counts as a noteworthy success. Clark Whittington and the many other artists associated with his Art-o-mat have a good reason to celebrate.
As a key component of this month's Art-o-mat 10th anniversary celebration, Urban Artware is presenting a lively, informative and innovatively installed exhibition of Art-o-mat artworks and related materials. Titled "Art-o-facts," it's a lot of fun to explore, and it does a great job of putting Art-o-mat in perspective.
Because it's the brainchild of a local artist and its machines have been fixtures on the local art scene for so long, Art-o-mat tends to get taken for granted in Winston-Salem. Spend 30 minutes to an hour perusing the display of art and information in this show, and you're likely to come away with a much better understanding of the concept and why it has enjoyed such international success. Art-o-mat may be a home-grown product, but it's still quite remarkable, and its success has everything to do with Whittington's industriousness, solid marketing instincts and sensitivity to fellow artists and their concerns. Participants are serious artists who like the idea of making works that can be offered so cheaply - currently $5 a piece, up from $1 each when the business was founded.
(Click here to read the full article.)
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