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Apparently, it is about as easy to break in as an art collector as it is to break in to the international art scene as an artist. Unlike other industries, where the merchandise displayed is for sale to anyone who selects it, in the world of fine art there is a pecking order and often a waiting list for even fairly well known artists works. Collectors have to prove themselves to be considered as someone who can buy works, because good gallerists (who have good artists) help create the careers of their artists and aim the works into prominent collections and museums.
It can be just as difficult, perhaps more so for emerging artists to find a gallery that shares their vision for their work. For an emerging artist navigating the terrain of galleries, understanding the kinds of deals, collectors, pricing, etc. has almost nothing to do with the actual task and understandings that one learns to create art.
Adam Lindemann is an art collector who has written, Collecting Contemporary,  a great reference book and also basic road map for the burgeoning art collector – but it is possibly an even better book for emerging artists.
As an emerging artist myself, I already understand a whole lot about art theory and history thanks to my education and interest. I also have the age and wisdom to comprehend my own passion for painting, especially since I am founding a new theory of art, which includes a written manifesto. Thus, this blog, because as an artist interested in founding an art movement, I am exceptionally interested in reaching other artists with what will help them.
In past blogs, including those that review (I only mention what I like) art shows and fairs. I discuss how I am busy attending shows as I search for galleries that I would be willing to have represent me. Usually, I have done a lot of research online about a gallery, as I search for those whose artists I appreciate. Gallery representation is a long range union, a kind of partnership or marriage, so finding a gallery that shares my vision not only for my work (I intend to start an art movement) but in general, is vital to me.
Recently, on a Thursday in Chelsea, just before most galleries were closing while others were about to host openings, I saw a flock of fashionably dressed youngish women led by an equally well dressed art advisor who led them into the back freight elevator in the building occupied by Greene Naftali. Clearly it was as much a social outing as one focused on art and possibly investing.
Collecting art can be a very social hobby. Or, as Lindemann describes in his book, it can be a consuming passion. That is what it is for Lindemann.
Basically, Collecting Contemporary is a series of interviews with major players in the art world., As a prominent collector, Lindemann has found access to top gatekeepers; the dealers (such as: Marianne Boesky, Jeffrey Deitch, Barbara Gladstone, and Marc Glimcher) art consultants (such as: Sanford Heller, Philippe Segalot, and Thea Westreich), Auction House Representatives (From Christies, Sothebys and Simon de Pury) and Museum directors and curators (the Guggenheim, MoMA, PS. 1 and Bard all well represented). Only one critic is included plus also Sam Keller, who until recently ran the Art Basel fairs. However, several other prominent collectors are included and those interviews deal with their strategies and preferences for collecting. The names of most everyone interviewed in this book regularly appear in ArtReview's list of 100 top people in the art world.
Although no artists are interviewed the book is wonderfully illustrated by the works of many of the best known contemporary artists, which includes works from Lindemann's own collection.
Despite Lindemann's and his subjects continued talk of collecting as a passion and to buy what one likes, by the end of the book, reaching the sections on the auction houses and museums, we are looking at art as a commodity and investment for financial gain.
For artists, art is always some kind of investment. One invests time, effort and/or money in education, materials, supplies, space, etc. Collecting and investing in art includes special advantages for collectors. It is prestigious, opens doors to social events and it decorates the walls and space of one's home a whole lot better than hanging up one's back and stock statements.
Ironically, it seems to me that the most valuable art, the art that becomes the most valuable over time is not necessarily the art that receives the best contemporary reviews, or art that educators or other artists appreciate or even that of celebrity artists. The art that appreciates in value most is the work that will consistently pull crowds into museum shows. There is a reason Lindemann ends the main interviews with the section on museums – inevitably the public votes with their feet by attending (or not) museum shows, including a museum's own collection.
In recent news several museums have been deaccessing (the polite way of saying, selling off) some works in order to collect other artists. What seems to be a rule of thumb is that the value of an artist's works decrease when they are known to have been deaccessed by a major institution. On the flip side, artists whose shows become blockbuster events for museums or galleries immediately increase in value.
Of course, some contemporary artists' works are undervalued, some overvalued and how to guess who or what to buy and when is discussed in the book. However, since this book focuses on prominent gatekeepers, those who are more than likely dealing with somewhat established and recognized artists finding the truly unknown and soon to be great artist is not addressed, except for the fact that many dealers now regularly attend the open studios of MFA candidates at Columbia, Yale, Hunter, etc.
Sometimes the new and unique vision of an artist can take a while for people to appreciate and understand. Often, this is true for artists whose work inspires other artists and even movements. The Impressionists, Van Gogh, Cezanne, awrence Weiner and Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock are all artists whose work was dismissed by critics and many of their contemporaries initially, and there are many more names that could easily be added to this list. How does a collector discover such an artist at the beginning of a career? Those who make such a discovery and then become established as patrons of such an artist reap great rewards of prestige, financial wealth and even often are remembered in art history.
Often those collectors are guided by an art advisor. Great collections, which are then given to museums usually, had the guiding hand of an advisor behind the wealthy patron. So for me, as an artist the most revealing section was the set of interviews with the art advisors. It seems apparent that artists who make their work known to key art advisors for collectors, can open doors for themselves. At least sending a brochure or even an introductory letter with a link to a web site with recent images of work might be a good idea.
In the back of the book, Lindemann includes several other helpful sections, a glossary of terms, a calendar of important art events and a listing of important web sites and magazines for collectors. These are also excellent resources for artists, especially emerging artists, because if the goal is to have one's work collected then the work needs to be seen where collectors look to find art to collect. Adam Lindemann's Contemporary Collecting is an interesting initial guide for emerging collectors and artists alike.
October 23, 2008 |
