On Wednesday of this week I went to a very interesting lecture at Sotheby's, the Auction House. The lecture was entitle How to Collect Art, and was part of a two part series sponsored by the AWA. Next month we will go on a Gallery Walk in conjunction with Sotheby’s, and apply the information that we acquired on Wednesday while looking at artwork in Hong Kong.
I was the co-coordinator for this tour and I went just out of curiosity, not really thinking that I had any “business” there. We’re hardly in a position to collect art the way I think that someone that would go to a Sotheby’s auction would. But the man that gave the lecture was young, energetic, and truly enthusiastic about art. The lecture was more about developing your eye, learning what you like, and starting a collection, at whatever level you were able to do that.
I took a lot of notes as he spoke (he had very good Power Point slides!). So the following is a summary of my notes from the lecture, instead of my usual blog/essay.
1. Train your eye to appreciate what is around you and decide what it is you love
a. buying vs collecting
b. decoration vs hobby
c. impulse vs enrichment
d. social vs curiosity
e. investment vs lifestyle/ love
2. Don't speculate
a. buy what you love
b. buy intelligently
3. Why collect art?
a. diversion - takes you out of your rut
b. social - community
c. mind-opening
d. pursuit - thrill (like shopping)
e. creative
4. Train your eye
a. what is it? Describe objectively
b. what could it be? think about possible explanations
c. is it good? Do you like it?
d. Is it art? Fine or decorative?
5. The best collections have
a. character
b. depth
c. potential for value
d. vision and focus
“To collect above all is to learn to observe” - François Perrault
6. Collecting is about
a. training your eye
b. learning about art & artists
c. new challenging ideas and exposure
d. learning about yourself
e. investing in the system that creates art
7. How to collect
a. expose self to lots of art
b. investigate further - who do you love or hate
c. take action - buy?
d. reflect & refocus
7. Expose - galleries, museums. auctions, art fairs. Read magazines, auction catalogs, survey books
8. Investige -
a. select 2-3 artists and learn as much as you can
b. Google monographs, etc
c. keep images for reference
d. track what they sold for at auction
e. understand artist’s period of work
9. Take action
a. visit galleries, form relationships and listen to opinions, then form your own
b. go to auctions but don't buy at 1st. watch and take note of prices
c. go to art fairs with an agenda. hunt don't shop
10. When you’re ready a collector should buy and not hesitate
a. buy intentionally
b. ask galleries, auction experts and other collectors to find what you want
c. buy the best you can afford at the time
11. Reflect & refocus
resources - artnet.com
artprice.com
aaa.org.hk
artfacts.com
venice biennale
hkart08
art basel
art miami beach
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