I’m more often inspired by kids than by grown-ups. I love their ability to take multiple ideas and mash them together to make something new, before they develop that voice that says, “No, you can’t do that. That doesn’t make sense. That won’t work.” As adults I think we often put more energy into justifying why we’re not doing something than actually doing things. This is why I love the Toy Zoo. The Toy Zoo is a gallery of work created by kids in Happen Inc.’s Toy Lab. Happen Inc. takes discarded, donated toys and breaks them down into their component parts. Then kids remix the parts to create toys of their own. The results are quite remarkable!
Spider Goof, created by David at Happen Inc.'s Toy LabMini Slapper, created by Alex at the Toy Lab
There are thousands of creations in the gallery. Check it out!
It’s a new year and a new direction for Callithump! After a longer than intended hiatus, we’re be returning with all new content at the end of January.
A mixed media poem found on the bathroom wall at Zoots in Camden, Maine.
What I love about art vending machines is the feeling that somehow they’ve leaked through from a parallel Earth. In that world the better angels of our nature won out. Instead of the worst of who we are (junk food and cheap crap made by children in sweat shops in China) the vending machines sell poetry and hand-made works of art.
Every once-in-a-while, I’m lucky enough to get that feeling in other ways, too. A few months ago I was using the bathroom in Zoots in Camden, Maine. Taped to the wall amongst the event posters and business cards (Camden’s equivalent of graffiti) was a mixed-media poem. It was done with great care, hand-written and painted, cut out of a paper bag and glued together. My photograph doesn’t do it justice. It was wonderful. I love the fact that for somebody out there it’s really important to inject a little beauty and wonder into the lives of people she’ll never meet. For a moment it was that alternate world slipping through again.
In the NOAH Egg Machine, free range chickens protest the cruel treatment of their incarcerated factory farmed sisters.
Just before Easter last year, an Egg Machine appeared in downtown Frankfurt. The Egg Machine featured live chickens in tiny cubicles and at first glance appeared to be selling freshly laid eggs. Actually, the chickens were from a local free-range farmer and were humanely treated. The Egg Machine was a project by NOAH, an animal rights group in Germany. Its purpose was to call attention to the inhumane treatment of chickens in certain types of egg farming. Instead of eggs, the machine dispensed tokens that showed how to identify eggs laid in humane conditions.
Overall, the project was a great success, receiving international attention and lots of press. I guess there’s just something about putting unexpected things in vending machines that captures the imagination!
Greenaid's Seedbomb vending machine. For 50 cents you too can be a green guerrilla!
In July of 2010, Culver City, CA design practice Commonstudio got a great deal of press for their Kickstarter project Seedbomb Vending. The project was to fund the start of Greenaid Vending, which are seedbomb vending machines. Seedbombs are balls of seeds, clay and organic fertilizer designed to be thrown into vacant spaces that should have green things growing in them:
Made from a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds, “seedbombs” are becoming an increasingly popular means combating the many forgotten grey spaces we encounter everyday-from sidewalk cracks to vacant lots and parking medians. They can be thrown anonymously into these derelict urban sites to temporarily reclaim and transform them into places worth looking at and caring for.
Not only was the initial Kickstarter campaign successful, the project has continued to grow. Currently they have more than 50 locations in the US and Europe. There’s a lot to like about them:
Greenaid seedbombs are hand-rolled in Culver City, CA using local materials, sustainable packaging, and socially responsible labor. Working in partnership with Chrysalis, a local non-profit, Commonstudio offers employment opportunities and a living wage to formerly homeless or economically disadvantaged men and women from the Los Angeles area. Every seedbomb you purchase is an investment in our shared future on a greener, more equitable planet.
What’s more, the seeds in the seed bombs are matched to the area’s native species, so they’re not introducing invasive species into ecosystems.
Congratulations, Greenaid! It’s really nice to see a project like this succeed.
Implications – Art is increasingly being commodified and made available to not only the upper classes. Art is being sold in small, on-the-go formats that appeal to the busy, but culturally-inclined, consumer. This trend also shows the continued popularity of vintage and retro designs, especially in now-simple technologies like vending machines or juke boxes.
Honestly, this strikes me as a rather trite analysis of the implications of this trend. The example Trend Hunter uses is the Art*o*mat®, who has this to say about their mission:
Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.), the sponsoring organization of Art*o*mat® is based on the concept of taking art and “repackaging” it to make it part of our daily lives. The mission of A.I.C. is 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.
I’ve found similar sentiments from other art vending machine proprietors. It’s not about commodifying art and making it lower-class. It’s all about making art more accessible. But maybe I’m just splitting hairs.
Bad Behavior has blocked 272 access attempts in the last 7 days.
