This idea of collecting is something I find intriguing. Does it really mean anything to have a collection of something like art or baskets or even sugar packets? Personally I would say no unless it carried some personal value. (I am qualifying my statement by saying that I am only referring to personal collections and not those of museums and other large establishments.) In so many instances I have met people who collect art objects not because they like them or even really want them, but because it gives them some sort of perceived social standing that is elitist. It is far more interesting to learn of people who collect things because of fond memories or perhaps even personally tendencies. In the end for me it is not what the object is so much as what the story that goes with it is. The experience is more valuable than the object and that is what makes collecting worth the effort.
With this in mind I took a look at myself and what collections I may have and realized that I have few things in my life that qualify as collections. I would wonder why this is more, but I know why. I don't like to own a lot of things. You can call it what you may, but it is all clutter. Objects are fleeting and of minimal importance and don't make a person any more interesting than they were to start with. I would rather see the things that were deemed important in the hands of an institution that will care for and preserve the integrity of the object than my own cause I would most likely end up throwing it away. I suppose this is somewhat of a backlash to the idea of collecting and hoarding, but for me it is true. Keep it simple and constantly move onward.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I think that motives for person collecting vary widely - artists collect work by their peers out of respect and admiration for each others work - people collect to have a "study" collection that informs their work (probably why you collect games.) At some levels - when the $$ values is high "status" may come into play but I think that at the heart collecters buy primarily because that are attracted to a particular piece. Buying something you don't like is a pretty risky step if you actually have to live with it and see it all the time on the wall! There also collectors that buy challenging work because it will challenge them and enhance their understanding of contemporaray art. "Collecting" in the broadest sense is deliberatly acquiring a class of objects for a specific purpose - enjoyment, study etc. Finally, there are people who collect for their current pleasure but who fully realize (and provide for the eventuality) that their collections will come to public institutions - in fact that is how the collections of the worlds greatest instutuions have been built...
dammit anne, i told you not to tell anyone about my sugar packet collection!
I think when referring to art, money always comes into play. You for example qualified your collection of containers by showing the class that they are collectable objects since musuems have objects similar to them. In the end the only pot you had any real affinity for that I could tell was the one from your parents, which leads me to believe that the rest (excluding the one you made) were only there because of social status and not personal investment or attracion. My skepticism in my entry comes from that level and I did not use it to comment on any institution or its foundation of existance.
On the flip side however, I have no particular feelings on people who collect things like for personal interests. I come from a houshold with parents who have an inordinate amount of collections. My mother, who collects baskets, loves what she has and uses them for many things. The only real value is in their use and not monetarily.This makes sense to me because they are prized objects not because of who made them and when but because they serve a real purpose that is shared with others.
Post a Comment