Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Discussion: Why do you collect art?


I’ve returned from a trip to New York, where I attended a Pixar Artists Masterclass; hit up as many art events as possible, such as Bronx Calling: The First AIM Biennial (my good friend and fellow Columbia alumnus with whom I was staying curates at Wave Hill), which showcases experimental work by 72 emerging artists and runs through September 5; and got into oddly heavy late-night discussions that included questions like “Would you resort to murder if not doing so meant you could no longer create art?” with the aforementioned friend. I also may or may not have gone tagging with said friend. (You have no proof!) (I type this with unpredictably permanent paint still encrusting my fingernails.) It’s always good to be back in NYC.

ARTnews recently published their Top 200 and Top Ten Collectors lists. Accompanying the latter was an article that detailed the art market’s recovery over the past couple of years, a shift in collectors’ interest from Impressionist and Modern to contemporary, and reasons for collecting art:

The late art historian Kenneth Clark probably said it best: "It's like asking why we fall in love, the reasons are so various."
Some of the reasons: social climbing; the work will increase in value; and, as a dealer said, it "provides you with feelings or sensations that you cannot get from anything else—visceral rewards, emotional satisfaction, the fact that you can look at the work in your home every day and continue to get renewed pleasure. It doesn't wear off."

Why do you collect? Whose work would you most want to collect, barring any and all financial and political limitations?

31 comments:

  1. Like Pokemon: I Gotta collect them (various mediums and styles) all - they may provide a refrence point my imagination can explore from.

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  2. Because science doesn't come in portable chunks.

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  3. I'm working class, so my purchases are modest and by total unknowns, but I collect as a way to live with art and improve my environment.

    There are many different ways to interact with works and one of those is time. The experience of living with the work is so different from breezing by it, giving it a few moments or even revisiting it in a gallery every few weeks. I collect to deepen my understanding or relationship with a work--my friends think that's cheesy or pretentious and I don't care.

    If I could collect anyone's work? I'm having a hard time choosing between Cy Twombly's paintings or those of Larry Rivers.

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  4. I collect artwork both to appreciate it, and to learn from it. I enjoy the materialistic aspects, as well as the scarcity of original works. For my own work, I don't hesitate to draw heavily from my influences or likes, and I'll gladly steal outright entire ideas if I feel I can improve on them, or at least put my own spin on it.

    Who would I collect? I'm fairly boring in that respect: Andrew Wyeth and German romanticists from the 1930's for my walls; maybe some Judd to use as a rack of coffee tables and shelving. Beyond that, I dunno.

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  5. Addy: You make a good point regarding time; when you purchase a piece of artwork, it becomes a part of your home. You live with it and are surrounded by it every day.

    Schleichkorn and Element K: It's interesting to hear from collectors who are also artists themselves; there's a different connection to the collected works.

    Donald Judd sculptures as storage. Love it.

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  6. I collect financial art - stock and bond certificates. Some of those pieces have exquisite vignettes, incredible designs and are in effect limited edition prints. Often, because the buyers were wealthy individuals, they have the added plus of historical context and famous provenance. And, at much lower prices than most artwork :-D!

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  7. Ah, a popular reason for collecting: it's an investment!

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  8. "Its an investment" only works if one ever sells a piece.

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  9. That it is true ..it is an investment only if you plan to sell it one day. However as a gallery owner and a collector when I buy art i follow my instincts and my trained eyes by picking up artwork that I like and I always keep in my back mind the fact that one day I might need to sell or keep it to my children to sell if they ever needed to.

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  10. It's a long-term investment (the recent recession showed how easily sales can plummet), but, if the piece is an original, is in good condition, and has good provenance or has /potential/ (maybe the piece is by an emerging artist who may become the next big art star), investing in art can be a judicious move.

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  11. Here's a good related article: http://blogs.forbes.com/kerenblankfeld/2011/06/21/the-underground-art-economy

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  12. Norma Greenwood
    I am an artist with an eye for the unconventional. My goal is to make art that resonates with the people who see it and ultimately, makes it worthwhile to own. I think art can bring inspiration and joy, art is a thread that connects all of us..

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  13. I collect art that inspires me, challenges me and adds interest and complexity to my life and space. I create cast glass and blown glass sculptures that others can lose themselves in, almost like an escape. It's a piece of my interior frozen in time. When I acquire another artists' work, it's a comforting feeling knowing that I have a piece of their creativity around me, almost like a friend. A good piece of art has spiritual presence.

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  14. As an artist yourself, Alex, do you typically collect art similar to your own work, or do you find that you're more inspired by pieces that diverge significantly from yours?

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  15. I'm collecting art because I love art and need art around me. It becomes a sort of addiction. To find a good spot for a new piece is like a journey, making a new story. Sometimes a new buy is very exiting giving a boost of energy.
    Buying art out of financial motives makes you buying to all likelihood the wrong piece. There is only a very very small % that will survive the judgement of time.
    If i could afford it i would buy a sculpture of Barbara Hepworth for my garden. i know exactly were to put it and i can even visualize it standing there

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  16. Possibly the best addiction one could have.

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  17. I have a small (humble) Egyptian antiquities collection...I collect these items for the thrill of owning a piece of history. What a privilege to hold something a person made 3,000 years ago! I think the pieces are beautiful, as well.

    I also learn a lot of about people by their reaction to the collection - some just want to know what it cost and comment on how I could have better spent the money, while others are fascinated by the history and craftsmanship.

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  18. I collect primarily photography, it helps further my own artistic horizons and inspirations. I've always been a fan of Man Ray's work, but more recently I've been drawn to the work of Miroslav Tichy.

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  19. I just started to collect a few years ago and investment is no reason at all to buy an art work for me. I am looking for art works I love to have at home, share my bedroom with, eat my dinner with, I love to see everyday. Then I know it will give me back inspiration, energy and motivation - for me the only reason why I would like to own an artwork.

    I do not care too much about the artist name: if I like the artwork - if it "talks" to me - I will buy it (within my financial limits :-)

    Last but not least there are those typical "story" artworks. For example I had the great pleasure meeting Hunt Slonem in his atelier in New York. I was not a very big fan of his work before but when I saw his passion, his life, his sourrundings it hooked me. So now I own a very beatiful piece of his younger years: Betty Davis. Definetly some work I love to share my sleeping room with.

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  20. I have been dealing in Pre- Columbian Art for over 30 years and I still have some of my customers from when I started. I have always tell them you should not buy as an investment, but instead you live longer. art collecting is one of the few activities older people can still do as long as they can write a check. After all we all know "you cannot take it with you" that is the money, but in may ancient cultures they buried their art with them to enjoy in the afterlife. Since we do not have anyone to come back from the dead to tell us how they enjoyed the art while they were on the other side, we can only assume that no one has complained so far and that it made a difference for them on the"other side"have the art to comfort them. David Bernstein

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  21. Lovely answers. Ann, I quite like the idea of artwork being almost like a companion one can live with. And yes, each piece has its own story, its own history, to tell.

    Forget passing artwork on to your children/grandchildren--fill my tomb with art!

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  22. because art is an expression of what seems to be incapable of expression. it's like life. you need art to live. therefore, you collect pieces of inspiration, and show you that emotion is real and beauty is real.

    like in mario, when you collect those little mushrooms haha you're stronger for it.

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  23. and i would LOVE to collect basquiat and warhol's pieces. especially their collaboration pieces. they're my absolute favorite.

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  24. I collect Stuckist paintings
    stuckism com - and photography
    see on independant collectors.

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  25. Well put, Shauna! Love the Mario analogy. Alexis, what is it about Stuckism that you're drawn to?

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  26. I personally have no desire to collect certain artists. I collect works that inspire me, make me think, that spark my imagination, or simply works that remind me of something I'm intending not to forget.

    And sometimes I just switch off my brain and buy things because I think they kick ass and I want to have them.

    And even in the price range of 500 EUR and lower, there is more good art (as judged by my gut and twisted tastes) than I could ever afford ...

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  27. "remind me of something I'm intending not to forget" - very poignant, Tommi.

    There is definitely plenty of art within that price range that deserves to be seen and circulated and cherished as much as possible.

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  28. Artist's oil paintings, worth having a look at http://ericgcweets.weebly.com/

    Do leave your comments, if the works leave some impression on you.

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  29. It's all about my passion! I just love your blog: I am an artist too and I've been visiting blogs like this one to improve my thoughts and perspectives about art.

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  30. why? it isn't good question Art is the most important expression we have when we are doing something

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