Why Collect Art?
February 9th, 2011
By: Douglas E. Taylor
When you purchase or acquire artwork it is an extension of who you are as a human being. You express a part of you that is a fundamental quality of a human being, a living spirit. A human being is capable of abstract thought, of expressing ideas, feelings and transcendent dreams. Visual art is a form of those expressions. It is not just special but magic when we connect to the artists through their art. The artist can create, can visualize those abstractions and represent those in an art form that can be appreciated by the person that takes the time to contemplate it. The artist’s art is a manifestation of a certain energy that is transformed by experience to the viewer. When you collect art, you are assuming that energy. That energy transfers to you, the collector. The good energy you transfer back to the artist through a gallery, keeps the flow of energy going. It cycles through the many channels and levels of experience. An art purchase allows the artist’s energy to continue and to reach more people and to foster artistic and personal growth. The circle widens and everyone progressively benefits. You should purchase what touches you, inspires you, helps you connect to something larger than yourself. Collecting art is a personal experience and an expression of who you are as a person.
Happy collectors are people who realize what is important to them and take the time to see that reflected in various art forms. People who enjoy collecting and building art collections develop a passion for what interests them. They usually don’t conform to fads and crazes; they buy because they enjoy the relationship with art that transforms a part of their lives. They do not buy for investment purposes; they collect because the have discovered a certain appreciation for a particular artist, a certain media, style, process, subject matter or other value they find in an art form. A happy collector seeks information and insight that contributes to their appreciation. A collector educates themselves and creates a better understanding of what the artist’s intentions are, the artist’s process and techniques, the history of those processes and media, and the history of the artist and the art form. There is a special satisfaction found in these discoveries. All of this goes beyond the contemporary notion as a function of decoration. Art has the ability to contribute toward an intrinsic value beyond beautification. The collector contributes to the art through their own personal experience, knowledge and spirit.
