Why What Who?
The Eye of the Beholder
Where Now? Who Now? When Now? - URS release by James Johnson
The question of u
Why did you collect the pieces you are holding? What is your focus in an ever growing supply? Who do you collect from?
These are all valid questions for both others and yourself to come back to on a regular basis. The answers are all but static; they can evolve with your own growth or with how your collection develops. Or they can simply change according to mood or even seasons. And yes, however much we as aestheticians try to deny it, the answers are sometimes connected with the popularity of an artist, a style or medium; hype and meta.
Art, same as beauty is everyting but objective. Which also brings me to the disclaimer: Although my words might seem as statements, they are only my point of view. Not how things should be, not how you should curate. So the first things I look for when collecting art is, does it’s beauty appeal to me, does it stir any emotion. Does it have a personal wow factor. Does it have aesthetic value. Again highly subjective.
Budget
Then, not unimportant, does it fit my budget? This might seem obvious, but I have seen a whole lot of people in this space spend irresponsibly more than they should. In my mind I might lean in that direction too sometimes. Just don’t. Overinvesting is a big no, yet just one tiny step away. Don’t only look at the total amount in your wallet, but also set a limit per piece on what you are willing to spend. This can be especially challenging in auctions. In most aspects of curating art for yourself, please do involve your emotions. But during auctions, leave them out. Don’t be too eager or overly disappointed and most of all don’t let ego play any role. “Oh you want to outbid me? Let me show you…” Don’t!
I love to support emerging artists or those new to the space. Again of course only if their art appeals to me. But sometimes I simply have no other choice, because of that same budget. So it kinda works both ways. I do not always have the SOL to go for higher profiled artists I love. Though I always add yet. Start of this year I was able to collect some personal grails. In an earlier stage than imagined, also thanks to Bonk. But even if I have all the SOL in the world, I would still want to look for and support artists who are less high profiled.
The Artist-Collector connection
As mentioned elsewhere, this connection is in many cases unique to this space. When buying physical works in the ‘traditional art world’ this connection is often absent. So does this really play any role when I choose what I acquire? For me it definitely can. Under the condition that I love a particular (new) piece and I have the budget, I gladly support artists I already have a connection with. And yes the question remains how well do you know an artist, simply through their art and social media as Twitter?
Well, through someone’s posts, DMs and MO you can form an opinion or at least some kind of feeling. This holds true for me the other way around as well. If an artist’s character and/or MO is off putting to me, I would hesitate to collect from them. MO can range from anything like ice-cold DMs to auctioning off 20 pieces at the same time. Wise? Maybe not, but I am not going to pretend that it isn’t a factor at all when curating.
Art or investment: Heart vs Mind
“I am just here for the art! I don’t care if it all goes down to zero”. Well, that certainly would be a lie for me. Yes I am here for the art. But we all started in crypto to see if we can make some proper investments and yes money. That holds true for NFTs as well.
I am seriously happy with the pieces I hold as I love collecting art. I wander through my own virtual galleries on a regular basis. Excited to share art on this site and on social media. But hell yeah, I love to have some pieces that turn out to be great investments. For myself on my way to financial freedom, but also to again invest in other art(ists). If that well dries up, it is kinda hard to keep collecting. Because again, do not invest what you don’t have or are not willing to lose.
Maybe not as often as with generative or pfp projects, rugs do happen in the world of 1/1 art. Stolen art or artists simply disappearing from the space for whatever reason; take their money and run, personal circumstances or disappointment and giving up. Which makes the monetary value of the pieces you hold zero in most cases. And you’re left with aesthetic or personal value. Sometimes I am more than ok with that. Other times these are ‘things that make you go hmmm.’ At best.
To be continued
These words are simply my thoughts and feelings caught in a blog. And for sure not the last on this topic. I will shine more light on what I personally like in art in future blogs.
All of the above may be ridden with cliches in the eyes of some. Seasoned collectors may find it unuseful or highly disagree with every word.
My hope is that a few of you find valuable insights, whether it is in the art of curating for yourself or in me as a collector. Sharing my journey also helps me. As said in the intro, questioning your own why, what and who can be extremely important. Valuing yourself should precede the valuing of the art you collect.